Beyond helping their patients overcome everything from chronic back pain to carpal tunnel syndrome, today’s physical therapists also make sure to take their skills outside of their offices, helping those in their community learn how to combat pain and improve their health. We recently checked in with PTs around the country to find out what they’re doing to give back. Here’s what they had to say:
Can you tell us about ways you are trying to impact the community?
Mentoring/Teaching: I have always had students come into shadow and observe. This has been very rewarding and I have learned a lot from these individuals as well. I also maintain a professional blog that has a great deal of free information for anyone wanting to dig deeper into health and movement.
Community involvement/awareness: My goal in the next year is to expand into the community with movement classes. I feel that this may be an easier way for people to access and learn about health and movement. The group classes will also allow a more affordable approach, which is becoming more important in our current socioeconomic dilemma.
Working with veterans or the disabled: We offer discounts for veterans and the disabled. These people are often the best patients as their resilience and dedication is inspirational.
– Dr. Aaron Swanson, DPT, CSCS, FMS, TPI, FRR, received a degree in exercise science from the University of Tennessee and his doctorate in physical therapy from New York University. He offers physical therapy, movement and sports performance enhancement and wellness consultations through his practice, The A&G Project, based in Milton, Ga.
We are continuously involved in charitable organizations. We create workshops and events where we give back to the community whether it be helping at our local foods banks or bringing awareness to a healthy lifestyle. People are living longer every day; the road to success begins today!
– Harris Hafeez is managing member of Advanced PMR, where he oversees all aspects of the practice. He is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and overseen the expansion of several companies.
As a Doctor of Physical Therapy I believe it is very important to promote our knowledge and understanding to the community. I believe that PTs are under-valued in healthcare because we cannot prescribe or order tests. The reality of the situation is that most patients do not need prescription drugs or X-rays/MRIs to get better. Not only are these a waste of healthcare money, they give the false impression that all diseases are cured only by medication or surgery.
Research has shown that medication and/or surgery often are no better than physical therapy in the treatment of many conditions. That is why I am actively involved in YMCA workshops and presentations that serve to educate the public on how we can live better and feel better by preventing disease to occur in the first place.
– Igor Tserlyuk, DPT is the owner and Director of Grasmere Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation. Igor is an expert in Orthopedic and Neurological Rehabilitation. In his effort to help others he effectively integrates evidence-based practice and holistic methods to achieve optimal results for his patients.
Yass Global Enterprises is trying to create a worldwide path to people so they can get the information they need to resolve their pain. One-hundred-twenty million Americans and over 1 billion people worldwide are suffering from chronic pain for no other reason then the ineptness of the exiting model.
Clearly, in almost all cases chronic pain is nothing more than misdiagnosed acute pain. The Yass method provides a logically based theoretically, clinically and scientifically proven method to properly identify the tissue eliciting symptoms. In more than 90 percent of cases it is muscular and targeted strength training can resolve the symptoms and return the patient to full functional capacity quickly and effectively.
We are in the process of developing multiple platforms and mechanisms to reach people worldwide including an app and other internet-based methods. The goal is clear: to obliterate chronic pain so people can have the pain-free fully functional life they deserve.
– Dr. Mitchell Yass, DPT is the creator of the Yass Method for diagnosing and treating chronic pain; author of The Pain Cure Rx released internationally by Hay House Publishing in 2015 and starred in his PBS special “The Pain Prescription” seen nationally and in Canada since 2015.
One key area of health where I think physical therapists are uniquely qualified to help is injury prevention and wellness. Many of the injuries I see in my clinic are from overuse problems or injuries from poor movement that could have been prevented. So one service we provide to our local community are free injury screens. By taking community members through a few basic movements, I can identify any basic movement dysfunctions they may have and then give advice on how they can keep their bodies healthy and reduce their risk of injury. This has been especially appreciated in our local youth sports population as well as our older adults as it helps them understand how their body is meant to work as whole.
– William Paranto is the director of physical therapy services at Progressive Spine and Sports Medicine. He runs the rehabilitation component of this practice, which provide its patients the latest nonsurgical treatment options for pain and sports
