Celebrating National PT Month

By Kayla Kranda – CC’s Staff

Celebrating National Physical Therapy Month.

Fall is in the air! Oh wait, is that snow already?! Despite mother nature giving us a little scare with the early snowstorm, we are still celebrating fall and the great month of October over here at CC’s.

In honor of October being National Physical Therapy month, I wanted to take some time to discuss what a physical therapist actually is/does. According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), a physical therapist is a movement expert who optimizes quality of life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education. Becoming a physical therapist typically requires 7 years of school after which we have earned a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. You don’t have to be in pain to seek services from a physical therapist. We can also help to prevent injuries or manage chronic conditions.

North Dakota has direct access which means, in most cases, you are able to seek the services of a physical therapist without a referral. Physical therapists are trained to recognize signs and symptoms that are outside our scope of practice and may necessitate a referral to another member of your healthcare team for further work up and management.

When you come into physical therapy, we will complete a comprehensive evaluation and work with you to determine how to best meet your needs and help you to achieve your goals. Here at CC’s our physical therapists provide one on one care both during the initial evaluation and during all follow up appointments. Your time is important to us and we want to help you get back to your life as quickly as possible.

Physical therapists are able to treat using a variety of techniques; however, patient education is a key component to every plan of care. We not only want to reduce your pain and improve your daily function, but we want to teach you how to safely manage your condition to prevent reoccurrence or persistent symptoms. Empowering you to live your best life!