Personal Narrative: A Career As A Physical Therapist Assistant

Physical therapy as a profession actually originated during World War I in response to the need created when our soldiers were injured in war. A physical therapist assistant provides services under the direction of a licensed physical therapist. Physical therapist assistants work in many settings including sports facilities and hospitals. They help many people ranging from athletes to the elderly. The most common injury is ankle sprains followed by groin pulls. Physical therapist assistants help patients with any injury regain their strength and recover quickly as possible with certain techniques and exercises. Rehabilitation is a way to regain strength when someone is injured and seeking to improve their mobility. One way to improve strength is by working out and performing specific exercises. By doing certain exercises they will “ improve your

However, hip injuries are common with all age groups. A well known hip injury is groin strains/pulls. The cause of a groin pull is from over exerting the muscles in your hip or applying too much force. The best exercises to do in rehab for a groin pull would be eccentric exercises. These are exercises that lengthen the muscle in response to an external resistance ( Farlex). Another exercise would be a long adductor stretch to loosen up the inner thigh area. Physical therapist assistants use a variety of techniques including stretches to help patients recover fast. Other hip injuries like snapping hip where a patient would “ feel a snapping sensation or hear a popping sound in [the] hip when [they] walk” (AAOS). The solution to this injury would be to do side-lying leg lift to strengthen the hip. Also, hamstring stretches on a wall would loosen the hip up allowing it to be more flexible. Most stretches can be done at home without any equipment, so it is very convenient to the patient and gets them a step closer to recovering as soon as