Americans Need Help Staying Healthy. Physical Therapists Should Fill the Role.
Physical activity has a well known and impressive list of benefits. These include but aren't limited to controlling weight, improving sleep, improving mood and reducing depression, protecting against diseases like diabetes, some cancers, strokes and even COVID-19. Despite this, less than 25% of people meet the CDC recommendations for physical activity. If we're going to become healthier and more resilient, we clearly need help.
Physical therapists do more than help you recover from surgeries or major injuries. They are the experts in human movement. To get the benefits of physical activity, you have to move. There are other professionals that help people stay active like strength coaches, personal trainers, group fitness instructors or chiropractors. But a PT can fill all of these roles and more. Nobody knows more about human movement or looks at health the same way a PT does. A PT can help with every aspect of movement including strength, range of motion, flexibility, endurance, balance and coordination.
They're also medical professionals who can work with doctors, dieticians, or other professionals like counsellors to use movement to manage things like diabetes, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, or even depression. They're trained to work with people throughout the lifecycle, so people can develop a long-term relationship with their PT and work together through the aging process or as goals change.
Physical therapists are the most qualified professional in existence to help people get and stay active so they can be healthy now and in the future.
