What Will I Learn : Physical Therapy Technology
Stuff happens right? Injuries from trips, falls, wrecks, all kinds of accidents – they happen every day. When people are recovering from an accident, illness or surgery, physical therapy can help speed up the healing process. We spoke with students in Carrington College’s Physical Therapy Technology program [1] to find out what they’re learning.
Why Choose Physical Therapy Technology?
As if working with manikins, practicing your skills on other students and getting real-world experience on an externship wasn’t reason enough, you get to help real people as they recover from an injury.
PTT student Cassy got into it because she really wanted to help wounded warriors, veterans and injured athletes. Luke chose the career because “it’s good to give back.” He enjoys being able to help people who can’t necessarily help themselves. As for student Jonathan…
“To help people walk again, to help them move again, to help them go back to work or go back home, that’s what I want to do – I want to help people.”
As you can tell, these guys chose this program because they really want to help people get back their quality of life, they want to change lives.
What Will I Learn?
The PTT program is a combination of classroom and hands-on lab work. It covers administrative tasks, physical therapy applications, equipment use and maintenance, pathology and more.
Student Chantel explained that, so far she’s learned about therapeutic exercises, range of motion exercises and more. The day we spoke with student Ashley, she was learning how to do passive range of motion exercises, which is moving the patient without them having to do any of the work!
“We’ve learned to use real world tools such as blood pressure cuffs and neck braces. We learned how to help injured sports players, and look for signs of traumatic brain injury,” explained student Luke.
“If a person needs bed rest and can’t walk on their own, we do different exercises. We pump the ankles, we help bend the knees,” explained Jonathan.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
As a PTT, you’d work under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist or physical therapist assistant with people of all ages who have difficulty with walking, with movement disorders or who just have problems with the normal activities of daily living. You could find yourself helping assist an athlete after a game, or working with a geriatric patient after a fall. A physical therapy technician, also called a physical therapist aide, can work in places like hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers and outpatient clinics.
So what are you waiting for? Click here to learn more about the Physical Therapy Technology program at Carrington College.
[1] For comprehensive consumer information, visit carrington.edu/cc/ptt.