Physical Therapists in Durham NC are movement experts who diagnose and treat folks with injuries and health-related conditions that impact their ability to move. These professionals use manual therapy, exercise, electrical stimulation (also known as e-stim), and other treatments to improve mobility and reduce pain.
These hand-on healthcare professionals work in a variety of settings, from private practices to hospitals and fitness centers. Here are nine areas of practice.
Orthopedics
With 206 bones and 650 muscles, the human body is a complex machine that provides support and stability, permits movement, protects vital organs and circulates blood. Unfortunately, the musculoskeletal system is also susceptible to dysfunction and injury. Orthopedic specialists treat injuries and adverse conditions involving the bones, tendons, ligaments and joints.
They address issues through non-surgical treatments like exercise recommendations and lifestyle changes, or surgical procedures including arthritis treatment – osteotomy (removing bone fragments) and joint fusions that join bone fragments together. Other surgical methods include the insertion of screws, plates and pins to stabilize fractured bones and repair tears.
PTs who specialize in women’s health understand how a woman’s musculoskeletal systems function during different stages of life, such as pregnancy and menopause. They are also familiar with issues that affect women during these periods, such as pelvic pain and osteoporosis.
Sports Medicine
If you suffer from chronic injuries, a physical therapist may be able to help you find relief and return to your normal activities. They can also diagnose and treat sports injuries and other musculoskeletal conditions. They often use a variety of techniques to treat patients.
These include ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and manual therapy. They can also provide advice on how to avoid future injuries. They can also offer low-cost evaluation options for uninsured patients.
Although most people who seek sports medicine treatment are athletes, this practice also helps non-athletes with injuries. In fact, many professionals, including nurses, construction workers, and waitresses, are prone to sports-related injuries.
A physician with a certificate in sports medicine can diagnose and treat injuries. They can also help individuals train and improve their fitness levels, which can prevent injuries. They also focus on the underlying medical issues that can cause injury. These issues can be caused by faulty movement patterns, natural biomechanical constraints, and poor posture.
Women’s Health
Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, love busy days or mellow ones, prefer children or adults — you can find your niche as a physical therapist. Many people choose to pursue advanced practice areas and earn specialized certification.
For example, pelvic health specialists help pre- and postpartum women with issues like incontinence and low back pain. Another specialty, oncology therapy, focuses on patients who are suffering from cancer and the treatment-related complications that come with it.
In addition to advancing your career, board-certified specialist certification can also help you build trust with your patients. This is especially important if you’re dealing with sensitive treatment topics, such as oncology therapy or women’s health. You can also specialize in other areas, such as vestibular rehabilitation (those who suffer from inner-ear disruptions that cause vertigo and loss of balance and mobility).
Pediatrics
Generally, pediatric physical therapists help individuals improve their mobility and alleviate pain, develop or restore function, decrease or prevent permanent disability. They may also perform a range of treatments, including vestibular therapy to treat balance problems and decongestive treatment to drain fluid from patients with lymphedema.
They have extensive knowledge of the health concerns of children from preconception through gestation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. They work with children with congenital or acquired diseases and disorders and are trained to provide care for a wide variety of conditions that affect the children’s physical, psychosocial, emotional, and developmental well-being.
In addition to standard PT services, these specialists may also perform a number of other procedures and treatments such as pelvic floor rehabilitation to treat urinary and fecal incontinence, cardiac rehabilitation for patients with heart disease or pulmonary disorders, and spirometry for pulmonary evaluation. The specialist may also administer lymphedema treatment, as well as acupuncture and massage.