Physical Therapy Schools - Physical Therapist Training

There are many paths that lead to jobs with long-term career potential. If long-term potential is of concern, physical therapy schools can easily provide you with the skills for a long and successful career. A physical therapist helps a patient improve mobility, relieve pain, and limit or prevent disabilities. A typical day for a physical therapist might include leading a patient through an exercise routine, perform massages, administer electrical stimulation of muscles, and prescribe physical therapy procedures. A physical therapist also reviews the results of treatments performed by assistants and aides. The main responsibility of a physical therapist is improving or maintaining patients' strength, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle performance, respiration, and motor function. In addition to providing patient care, designs treatment programs for their patients that will result recovery from disability or injury.

Skills and Training

Physical therapy schools begin instruction with basic science courses such as biology, chemistry, and physics and then introduce specialized courses, including biomechanics, anatomy, neuroanatomy, growth and development, human diseases, examination techniques, and therapeutic procedures. In addition to classroom and laboratory instruction, supervised clinical experience is also a major part of training at all physical therapy schools. After graduating from an accredited physical therapist program, physical therapists are required by each state to pass a licensing exam before they can practice.

Employment Outlook

As the US population ages the need for qualified health care workers increases. Physical therapists are among the professional healthcare workers who will see an increase in job opportunities through 2012. Physical therapy is clearly a career that has long-term prospects. There are many resources available online if this is a career path you'd like to explore, including information about Physical Therapy Schools near you.