What Does a Physical Therapist Do?

Licensed physical therapists have many roles in the healthcare field. PTs can be involved in orthopedics, sports medicine, cardiac rehab, neurological rehab, acute hospital care, pediatrics, home care, and geriatrics. Many physical therapists currently practicing have either a bachelors or masters degree, and most schools are now transitioned into doctorate programs. I am involved in sports medicine and outpatient orthopedics at Performance Rehabilitation in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. I am lucky that we see a large degree of athletes, post-operative patients, and a wide variety of injuries. Our practice employs many experienced therapists with various specialties, and we frequently learn from and feed off of each other. PTs are always learning through continuing education and through their peers to help patients receive the best possible care. We typically see patients 2-3 times a week for 4-10 weeks depending on their injury, and patients goals range from 'returning to sports' to 'walking without pain,' and we do our best to help patients accomplish their goals. Treatment usually consists of manual therapy techniques, stretching, function based exercises, modalities, and sports-specific drills, with the goal of having the patient complete a home exercise program on their own.

What Would You Like to See on Sk8Strong.com?/ Trainer Database

We've been analyzing which services people are interested in, and the skill analysis and the video analysis seem to be very popular with our visitors. Please let us know what you might like to see on our site, as we are open to suggestions. As our newsletter subscriber list continues to grow, we will include more information about the DVDs, further training tips, and comprehensive articles. Thanks to all of our subscribers! New to the site this week is the beginning of an off-ice trainer database. We are starting a database of qualified health professionals who are involved with off-ice training for figure skaters, to help parents and coaches find a qualified, credentialed professional. If you know a credentialed trainer, please encourage them to apply. There is a yellow box on our homepage, or visit www.sk8strong.com/trainers.html for more info.

Welcome

Hi everyone. Thanks for visiting http://www.sk8strong.com/ ! We are very excited by the tremendous response to our website (over 7000 visits in one month!), and hope to produce the best information about strength and conditioning and off-ice training for figure skaters and the figure skating community. Figure skating, off-ice training, and the development of athletes are my passions, and I hope to share them with you for the years to come. Steve and I are excited to produce off-ice training DVDs for the figure skating world, and they will be available in the next few months. I hope you enjoy Sk8Strong's newsletter and articles, as well as the skill analysis and injury reports. Thanks to all of the members who have joined so far. I'm glad you have been satisfied, from the positive feedback we have received. I hope to add to the blog every week, so please check back to read about training tips, the progress of the DVDs and manual, and more!