PT's and fitness....

PT's and fitness.... (Full Version)

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Bubzeebub -> PT's and fitness.... (September 30, 2004 4:03:00 PM)
I'm new to the PT world. Actually I'm a wannabe PT in training. Do most PT's work out and stay on top of fitness/nutrition/etc or are most PT's like caregivers/nurses rather than fitness gurus?

Dr.Wagner -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (September 30, 2004 7:44:00 PM)
I would say as a whole, PTs tend to stay in shape...the schedule a PT is able to keep REALLLLLLY allows for personal time. There are exceptions to every rule...but a good portion of PT's that I hav worked with enjoy sports and fitness.

Brian Schiff, PT, CSCS -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (September 30, 2004 8:25:00 PM)
I agree with Dr. Wagner that most PT's are in shape. In regard to the first post as to whether they stay on top of fitness/nutrition, I think that may hinge on their patient population and personal interests. I have worked with some veteran therapists who know very little about exercise progression when it comes to athletes, while others are more skilled. Personally, I learned a great deal from becoming certified by the NSCA and actively reading more fitness publications. In addition, I spent time with athletic trainers to learn more about return to play progressions and strategies. Sometimes, I sense that PT's feel most if not all fitness trainers are inferior in knowledge and prone to have people do biomechanically improper things. I feel I can say this as I have worked full time as a therapist in sports medicine clinics in addtion to now owning my own fitness studio and working full time in the fitness industry. There are several highly skilled fitness professionals with medical backgrounds and advanced degrees in addition to the many "questionable" trainers. Networking with a good fitness professional can enhance your care and referral network, and you both can learn from each other - a true win-win. Currently, I feel it is more important than ever for therapists and fitness professionals to collaborate and work together to improve health and wellness for patients and clients alike. Given the nature of limited reimbursement and time constraints, many therapists I am affiliated with refer athletes to me for high end post rehab work because visits have expired or the therapist feels the athlete simply needs more. This open line of communication allows the therapist to direct the aftercare and still learn about the advanced training we provide - as they are able to witness it firsthand. Nutrition is another thing by itself. I read to keep up on all the latest trends, fads and truth, but I always defer to a registered dietitian for specific counseling and advice. Best to do this from a liability standpoint, depending on the laws in your state or area. ----------------- Brian Schiff, PT, CSCS [URL=http://www.thefitnessedge.cc]www.thefitnessedge.cc[/URL]

Randy Dixon -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (September 30, 2004 11:08:00 PM)
I'll give a shorter answer based on my experience with PT's, I'm not a PT but I have worked with dozens. It depends on how they came to be PT's. Many people become PT's because of a sports or fitness background and try to find a way to make a career of that, others get there from more of a medical background or inclination. I have found the degree of expertise in fitness and in personal fitness is more a result of personal interest than as a result of training or education in PT. Obviously there is some overlap, and a PT has the background to become an expert in the field. I have a lot of respect for the field of physical therapy, but I would also say that I am surprised at the number of therapists who are not well informed or educated about exercise science. The most surprising thing is that I believe that ALL therapists have the knowledge but that many of them fail to apply it in that arena. I also see many bodybuilding/fitness types thinking that they would like a career in PT because it seems to revolve around exercise. Many of the become disillusioned when they find that working with strictly athletic populations is rare and a good deal of it is working with old, frail, or deconditioned people.

JLS_PT_OCS -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 1, 2005 6:00:00 AM)
Brian, Well said. I second all those thoughts. -Jason

Randy Dixon -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 2, 2005 9:54:00 PM)
My wife is a director of OP PT at a hospital. I'm trying to convince her to start a "Train the Trainers" program. Having personal trainers come in and be instructed on post-rehab exercises and finding out which ones are professional so that the PT's can "refer" to them when they finish PT. The PT's should also be available for questions regarding the patient. I think that something similar would be a good idea for many therapists, patients usually need to continue exercising after therapy.

Randy Dixon -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 2, 2005 9:55:00 PM)
My wife is a director of OP PT at a hospital. I'm trying to convince her to start a "Train the Trainers" program. Having personal trainers come in and be instructed on post-rehab exercises and finding out which ones are professional so that the PT's can "refer" to them when they finish PT. The PT's should also be available for questions regarding the patient. I think that something similar would be a good idea for many therapists, patients usually need to continue exercising after therapy.

Barrett -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 2, 2005 10:37:00 PM)
PTs tend to be in shape? I see about 200 each month, and they look like any other 200 people you might see on the street.

JLS_PT_OCS -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 3, 2005 3:51:00 AM)
Barrett- I guess that's a "practice what you preach" thing for those therapists you are referring to. I think if anyone has this education and does not maintain a good level of fitness and health themselves, they are providing a poor example for their colleagues and patients. In my opinion, it is poor professional decorum as well. In the Army, fitness and weight is part of your performance evaluation, and I have come to believe that that is an important aspect of our overall professional presentation. I'm not suggesting everyone should be an Eco-challenge stud (god knows i'm not), but not being obese and having a baseline level of fitness I would think is an expected behavior. Or should be. If we can talk to a colleague about their mode of dress or communication with patients, surely their appearance is not off limits as well? Not just for ortho/sports people -- I found my neuro rehab experince more challengeing physically than any other...transfers, etc. And therefore I would think health and fitness would be just as important for them as for others... What do others think? J

Randy Dixon -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 3, 2005 7:45:00 PM)
Well, I just heard a story on NPR today about a company that fires it employees if they smoke, not only if they smoke on duty, but at all. They give breathalyzer tests. It's legal, and they can make a case about saving them healtcare costs etc. but to me it is unacceptably intrusive. I was also an officer in the Army, at a time when physical fitness became a very big issue. People were being dishcharged regularly for being overweight. This made no sense to me. They should have been tested for the ability to do their job, given that it was the Army this might have included being able to lug heavy weights around or whatever basic infantry ability that the Army believed every soldier should possess, but making it weight based, something done on pure appearance, seemed the result more of stereotyping and prejudicial thinking than a clear desire to get the best people for the job.

Sebastian Asselbergs -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 4, 2005 1:10:00 AM)
Well said Randy! Skill should be the parameter. Without any solid research in this area, what we are limited to here, is opinion and personal experiences. My opinion and experience are that for some groups of patients it seemed to matter that their PT is fit and trim and a recreational athlete, for others - not. The athletes I have worked with for so many years, from high school to Olympic level, did not give a d**n about what the exercise physiologist, sports doc, massage or physiotherapist looked like (we had an obese exercise physiologist with us in the Alps with the X-C team) - as long as they knew their stuff and helped them! For some other patients, it was important to see their PTs partake in sports like running, and to see them at the gym. As far as general fitness of the PTs - well, it happens that I live in a community that attracts people who like fitness and the outdoors - lots of hills, skiing, biking, running X-C - located around a lake - swimming, triathlons, waterskiing, sailboarding. Special walk/run/rollerblading paths all along the waterfront. Yes, most of the PTs here are very fit - so is a large part of the rest of the professional population. This would be an interesting demographic study - anyone out there looking for a thesis subject?

Jon Newman -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 4, 2005 1:41:00 AM)
Another twist on the practice what you preach concept would be the presence of persistent pain. Shouldn't therapists be virtually pain free people given all we know about this subject? jon

JLS_PT_OCS -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 4, 2005 4:13:00 AM)
Jon- I wish that were the case. Right now (discussed on another thread) I am trying to rehab a raging case of B patellar tendonitis/osis/opathy. I also have an ongoing Lx Radiculopathy that is slowly getting better (praise the gods of stabilization). So I guess I would fail that litmus test... :) I think being a Therapist focuses me more on the EBM treatment of such problems, and definitely makes me virtually immune to psychosocial / fear avoidance type issues. Which is a good prognostic factor. Being that I study martial arts, I am always getting my neck cranked, elbow nearly hyperextended, and head punched. (I never said I was good at it) :) Being a Therapist makes me less afraid, but more focused on injury prevention. I explain to the soldiers that I see that people are like performance cars. The older you get and the more you race, the more maintenance you have to do. Cars that regularly race require more TLC and maintenance, but they can also really drive fast! I tell patients, would you really want the car that sits in the garage and only gets out once a week to the grocery store, at 30 mph? I'll take the knee and back pain, and crunching joints all day over being obese and dying of an MI. I guess being a PT just makes me want to burn out rather than fade away...or maybe just die of different things! J

Jon Newman -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 5, 2005 3:09:00 AM)
Hi Jason, In your opinion, what accounts for the persistence of symptoms? To use your analogy, are you driving a lemon or is it pilot error? jon

JLS_PT_OCS -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 7, 2005 5:06:00 AM)
Persistence of symptoms in general, or in my case? I think it is a little bit of both. Probably more related to what you alluded to in the 'operator error' context. What we call in the Army "head space and timing issues", or what I have heard called in the medical world "Supra-tentorial dysfunction". All of which would be true of me. But I do think it is possible to be fit and have a low number/severity of injuries - it just depends on the activity chosen. Being a PT should give us the best education for choosing a long term fitness activity that best meets our needs, which is why I am so perplexed when I see fat/unfit PTs. And Randy and Sebastian make a good point about function, I would agree that it is not the FATness but the FITness that counts. It's possible to be fat and fit...just not very likely. :) J

Shill -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 7, 2005 7:05:00 AM)
A few thoughts. If you go into a clinic for smoking cessation, and see your MD light one up in the parking lot on the way in, how ya gonna feel? If you are told by an unfit, obese therapist that you have to do these exercises this many times a day or week to be well, how ya gonna feel? I once went to a pro baseball tryout where one of the scouts told us, "You gotta go 100% all of the time, hustle everywhere,etc, etc". This guy needed a wheelbarrow to cart around his gut. Bottom line is that, in our society, appearance does matter. You will be judged on this, whether you like it or not. In a perfect world, it wouldnt matter, but as you all know, this world is far from perfect. Reasonable fitness is a reasonable expectation. If you are one of the fit fat folks, let people know. You should be proud of it. Patients may become inspired by your success.

Jon Newman -> Re: PT's and fitness.... (February 7, 2005 7:55:00 AM)
I agree, I think it is important that PT's model what they expect from their patients. Why this is important is worth contemplation. jon

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