I highly respect my field and love what I do. We, as physical therapists (PT) are trained to use manual skills for rehabilitation. These manual skills require both physical and mental strength. Physical strength for muscle training and mental strength for problem solving. While we passionately put in our efforts to get people going, we must learn to take care of ourselves. Injuries from work is common, most professional dancers and athletes deal with it every day. The most important aspect is chronicity. The longer the body is stressed, harder it gets to heal. The best solution is to prepare your body to deal with every day stresses.
While PT’s are prone to work related injuries, we also have the ability to recognize and resolve them.
I am a small built and petite young physical therapist trying to use my body weight every day to mobilize big joints and stretch tight muscles. It puts a lot of stress on my body and thus, increases chances of injuries and reduces my longevity in my career. And I hear, it gets harder as you get older. So, what do I do to save my body from wearing off sooner than I would want it to? (I never want it to, they say retiring isn’t fun)
Strength training: PT’s use manual strength to resist movements with the idea to neuro educate and activate muscles. Most common impairments PT’s come across are shoulder impingement/tendinitis, carpel tunnel syndrome, extensor muscle tendinitis etc. All the magic lies in our hands and so we must save them. Daily workouts including strength training and conditioning especially for upper body (since it does most work) is essential to maintain strength.
Quick tip: Use manual resistance through body weight or big joints like shoulders while performing manual therapy with small joints like thumbs or wrists.
Core stability: Other common PT related injuries are neck and back pain. We treat a lot spine related injuries every day and we know how important core stability is. PT’s not only have to frequently switch positions but also have to maintain good posture while pushing or lifting limbs. Good core stability will protect the spine from common impairments like disc herniations and other facet derangements.
Quick tip: Try to activate your own core while performing any strenuous activities like resistance training or manual therapy.
Flexibility: While strength and stability are important to prevent injuries, maintaining muscle flexibility is also as important. They work hand in hand in rehabilitation. Over using certain muscles for manual therapy can lead to tightness and hence, muscle imbalance. Regular stretches are an important tool in prevention.
Quick tip: Try to do small joint stretches in your free time while seated for documentation, eg: wrist flexor or upper trapezius stretches.
General fitness: Since our jobs are so physically demanding and requires general fitness, maintaining cardiopulmonary endurance is essential. Pick up an activity you enjoy like brisk walking or biking or running on a treadmill or an elliptical and maintain your fitness level.
Quick tip: It is a good idea to do certain exercises while teaching them to the patients, eg: planks or agility exercises.
A good PT helps others but a wise PT helps themselves first! I may not have great strength and core stability (Yet…!) but I have had enough work-related injuries after working as a physical therapist which lead me to put up this blog. I hope that every therapist could prevent themselves from as many injuries as possible and be able to continue helping others.
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