Physical Therapy

I have been getting physical therapy for some musculoskeletal injuries, and I've been pleasantly surprised. As a medical student and resident, I always valued physical therapy but I never really appreciated it. I ordered it for most of my patients, especially elderly patients who needed assessment, evaluation, and treatment for ambulating safely. I always signed the orders for the physical therapist's recommendations. I was always pleased to see them working with my patients in the hallways.

But I never really got what physical therapy was. Now that I need it myself, I find it incredibly therapeutic. Physical therapists understand the body and movement in a way doctors don't. Unless we study rehabilitation medicine or sports medicine, we don't fully appreciate how the musculoskeletal system works. As an anesthesiologist, I am enamored by the core organs, the complex and fascinating ones. As a patient, I'm starting to understand how complex and fascinating muscles and movement can be. I learn from my physical therapist those muscle groups that are affected, how to strengthen weak muscles to counterbalance overactive ones, how poor posture reinforces muscle tension, how stretching and stress and strain interrelate. I am truly understanding their role as health providers.