This is a myth that we too commonly have to de-bunk, and honestly it’s not anyone’s fault except ours as physical therapists. Our profession as as a whole has obviously done an extremely poor job at letting the community know everything that we have to offer and everything we are trained in dealing with!

Physical Therapists are VERY well trained in musculoskeletal injury screening (seriously, research shows that we are just as good as orthopedic surgeons at diagnosing musculoskeletal conditions! Click here for more research info.) Physical therapists are also well trained in movement assessments, performance based training, and helping people perform at their highest level while simultaneously reducing their risk of injury! Being able to rehabilitate someone after an injury is just one TINY piece of what we are able to offer people!

The other important and noteworthy skill of physical therapists is our ability to understand when an issue is beyond our scope of care. This means that when we feel that someone is dealing with an issue that would be better treated by another practitioner or could use more imaging we are trained to refer to a provider who is most appropriate. Although it is rare that we have to refer our, it is something that we have to utilize at times when it is whats best for the patient.

At Movement is Medicine we pride ourselves in taking a preventative approach to the health of the dancers we work with, and helping reduce their risk of injuries before they begin. This is a missing piece in healthcare and is something that is outside the norm of traditional physical therapy practices that only participating in reactive medicine, but we believe that it shouldn't be.

So if you or someone you know could benefit from seeing a physical therapist share this with them so that we can spread the word and create a NEW standard in healthcare by practicing preventative medicine!