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The Impact of Physiotherapy – By Valerie Nagtegaal
The pathway guiding the direction and my decision in choosing to pursue a MSc. in Physical Therapy at Queen’s University has been influenced by many factors. I was first introduced to physical therapy as a career in high school when I took an Exercise Science class. Here I learned some of the basics of orthopaedics which I thoroughly enjoyed. This class strongly influenced my decision to proceed with a university education in kinesiology. I went to Brock University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (Honours) degree. My experiences from university including courses taken, and discussions with professors and employers have influenced and confirmed my decision to pursue a career in physiotherapy.
There is one specific university course that had the most impact on my decision. The name of the course was “Therapeutic Application of Physical Activity.” For this course Dr. Gail Frost used a teaching method called problem-based learning, where we had to use knowledge from previous courses and experiences to guide our decision making. The major component of the course was an assignment where we were faced with a hypothetical situation, such as a knee injury similar to what a physiotherapist may see, and had to determine different exercise assessments to figure out what the problem is, and then come up with a therapeutic exercise program to promote healing and strengthening.
Taking a year off school and working as a kinesiologist in an outpatient orthopaedic clinic was an invaluable experience. Here I treated patients with modalities such as interferential current, ultrasound, heat or ice, soft tissue work and exercises. Working at the clinic I would observe the physiotherapist and watch how they are able to assess a patient’s physical function. I realized that becoming a physiotherapist was the direction I wanted to proceed in. Physiotherapists are able to assess a patient, which would allow me to have control over the course of action taken to treat, rehabilitate, and prevent future dysfunction, injury or pain, along with developing, maintaining, rehabilitating and promoting function or relieving pain. Watching the effects that physiotherapy has on lives of individuals is remarkable. People are able to live a life that allows them to be relatively pain free, and do activities that they were not able to do before physiotherapy treatment.
Physiotherapists can have quite an impact on an individual, including making them stronger. The idea of being stronger could mean more than one thing. It could be related to gaining physical strength, but it could also be applied to mental strength. By increasing an individual’s muscular strength, this could lead to increasing their mental strength. An increase in muscular strength can lead to improving one’s function which would lead to increase in confidence and in return one can become more independent. As a result a person’s quality of life will improve overall.
Valerie Nagtegaal
Physiotherapy Student
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