Official Therapist Blog

Sports Physical Therapy in High Demand

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 10.14.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, How to Tips, Physical Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Top Therapy Blogs, Travel Therapist, Travel physical therapy jobs, Videos, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy, video

Spotlight on Graduates

From college and professional athletes to kid’s sports injuries, baby boomers and seniors staying fit, the demand for sports therapists is off the chain.

How close are you to jobs in Sports Therapy?

The number one ‘Best Thing!’ about having a Masters in Physical Therapy is after years of late night studying, tests, clinicals and boards, you finally get to practice. The number two best thing is your Masters paves the way for your doctorate - or maybe first a career in sport physical therapy.

Every time you see an NFL quarterback sacked or a college ‘b-baller’ hit the floor hard, somewhere a sports therapist secretly says: “Yes, more work for me!” Naturally you sense exaggeration here as we all know compassion is vital to the art. Nevertheless facts are facts. Whenever an athlete gets hurt playing sports; a physical therapist likely plays a role in healing.

“Jobs in sports physical therapy are challenging and rewarding,” said Dennis Grandic, PT, MBA, Business Account Manager for Physical therapy staffing agency Travel Force Staffing. “They’re ideal positions for PT graduates in search of job satisfaction, career stability, and great pay.”

Sports Physical Therapy Jobs Working with Children

About 38 million teens play organized sports in the U.S. each year. Of these, an average 3.5 million get hurt - sprains, strains, head, spine, neck and back - plenty of jobs in sports therapy here.

Think football leads the pack in promoting adolescent sports injuries? Guess again. Bicycling is number one with 275,000 yearly mishaps. Basketball follows second with 200,000 and football third with 194,000. Injuries on the trampoline, playing soccer and skateboarding rank four, five and six respectively.[1]

Sport Therapists for Adults

Fueling demand for sports physical therapy are millions of ‘just retired’ Americans exercising regularly. Alongside them are seniors living longer and being more active while doing it. This beckons the story of 105-year-old Isabel “Billie” Smith in Margate Florida who said the only reason she gave up swimming at the age of 99 was because of a hip injury. “I do miss it though,” she said.

The centurion maintains mobility through exercise classes with a licensed sports therapist.

What’s the Jobs Outlook for Sports Physical Therapy?

Sport therapy is expected to grow more than 27 percent through to 2018. Salaries are high and range around the $80,000 mark. The average yearly salary in 2009 was $74,000 and sports therapists working for professional sports teams commonly earned well over $100,000.

Physical Therapy Jobs on the Rise in the Wake of Recession

The demand for physical therapy jobs is increasing sharply. Factors include an aging population, shorter hospital stays, the shift to ambulatory care and an improvement in the survival rate of accident victims and newborns. Indirectly, the rise in life expectancy makes interventions in physical therapy even more relevant, since physical therapists improve the quality of life of the elderly for an increasing proportion of their life.

Want to learn more about careers in physical therapy, sport therapy or other allied health jobs? Looking for a permanent position, a travel therapy job or to practice in a skilled nursing facility or outpatient rehabilitation center? Call Travel Force at 800-617-0608 or apply online today!

Related Blog:

National Physical Therapy Month - sports injury prevention throughout our lifespan.

[1] National SAFE KIDs campaign.

Underwater Treadmill to Help Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 07.29.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Top Therapy Blogs, Travel Nurse Blog, Travel Therapist, Travel physical therapy jobs, Videos, medical robotics, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy, video

For some it’s the path of least resistance, but for patients recovering from injuries that resulted in severe spinal cord trauma, the resistance experienced during physical therapy (in the controlled speed of an underwater treadmill) makes all the difference: especially in mobility. The treadmill was developed by Dr. Sandra Stevens, in her human performance lab at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU); the study is a relatively new technology that patients are as eager to use as the physical therapists guiding their sessions in a 270 gallon tank of water. In video footage of the treadmill in use, one patient says, “it makes you feel good.”

Underwater Treadmill video

Details about the Underwater Treadmill

The underwater treadmill got its initial funding from the National Institute of Health. Dr. Stevens began the study with a group of 12 patients, meeting with them 3 times a week for 8 weeks, noting among the positive outcomes that these patients were less likely to suffer from self-fulfilling prophecies and stop progressing. The underwater treadmill seems to prove that there is no ceiling on getting better. In fact, one of Stevens’ patients, who suffered a broken neck in a 2007 accident, continued her therapy after the treadmill study ended, and reports that her wheelchair now sits in a corner, unused 90% of the time. Improvements in this patient and others taking part in underwater treadmill therapy, show the most marked advances are in the number of steps patients managed in their own environments, leg strength, preferred walking speed, and the amount of distance covered in just 6 minutes.

Looking for Physical Therapy Jobs that utilize the cutting edge in technology?

Besides using some of the latest technology, like the Underwater Treadmill, physical therapy jobs let you choose from a wide range of work settings, outpatient and Rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, and private therapy practices. A physical therapy career is normally ranked highest in job satisfaction; generally, most physical therapists report being very satisfied with their occupation. In addition, a past survey by the Wall Street Journal‘s Career Journal, physical therapy rated one of the eight best careers!

A physical therapy career with Travel Force offers permanent, per diem and travel therapy jobs nationwide. We have high paying allied healthcare jobs in America’s best hospitals, which include University teaching hospitals similar to MTSU where the groundbreaking underwater treadmill was developed. If you love travel and have nowhere to go but up, call 1-800-617-0608 or apply online today. Isn’t it time you got your feet wet?

Travel Force Staffing provides recruitment solutions for America’s top rated rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient and Rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, and private therapy practices located in all 50 U.S. states.

Physical Therapy Student Loan Repayment Changes Proposed

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 07.21.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Education, Physical Therapist Education, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Top Therapy Blogs, Travel Nurse Blog, Travel Therapist, Travel physical therapy jobs, Videos, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy, therapy job bonus, video

PT’s Speak Out on Educational Debt

Introduced earlier this year, the Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2011 amends the Public Health Service Act to include physical therapy in the definition of “primary health services.”  The proposed change would make physical therapists eligible for repayment of their student loans under the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. Although physical therapists have been excluded under this bill, many health professions are covered by legislation that forgives a certain amount of student loan debt for every year of work in an under-served area. Too often, large under-served areas go without comprehensive health and therapy services, so the NHSC has made it a mission to bring access to these areas.  This bill would allow up to $30,000 in loan forgiveness per year (for a maximum of 2 years) in exchange for service in a disadvantaged area.

The Act is intended to encourage physical therapists to serve in rural and urban under-served communities, primarily by easing the educational debts of physical therapists who would otherwise find it financially impractical to work in these locations. Ultimately some of these therapists may decide to practice long-term in these locations, once their NHSC service is complete.

In June of this year, approximately 1,000 physical therapists, PTA’s and students of physical therapy visited their U.S. Representatives and Senators as part of this year’s PT Day on Capitol Hill. The PT’s visited their congressional reps to lobby on legislation that affects the profession. Check out the APTA’s video of their visit to DC here:

Looks like becoming part of the political process made for an energizing, inspiring day.

How to Be Heard

As of this writing, the bill was currently under consideration in the House Subcommittee on Health. If you would like to speak out on this legislation (H.R. 1426/S. 975), you can email your congressional representatives directly or through the APTA’s Legislative Action Center by visiting www.apta.org/TakeAction

More Ways to Cope with your Physical Therapy Student Loan and Educational Expenses

Recent physical therapy graduates may also want to consider travel therapy jobs as an effective way to defray the costs of rehab therapy education. Not only  are the physical therapist salary and compensation attractive on travel assignments, there are also bonus programs that can make a real difference  to the bottom line. Travel therapy jobs are also a low-risk way to try out different clinical settings — short and long-term  rehab therapy assignments are available in metropolitan and rural settings, in rehabilitation clinics, and in teaching hospitals.

Fill out our brief online application or call 800-617-0608, and start exploring your PT career options. Travel Force Staffing expert recruiters are standing by to take your phone call.

Virtual Rehab for Occupational Therapy Jobs

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 07.15.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Gadgets, Occupational Therapy, Product Reviews, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Top Therapy Blogs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, Videos, medical robotics, rehabilitation therapy, video

Read Why Occupational Therapy Jobs Just Got More High-Tech in Nevada

Occupational therapy jobs are getting more high-tech and rewarding when they help senior aged patients, thanks to a virtual reality system called the OmniVR. Recently added to two skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Las Vegas, the OmniVR is a virtual rehab system developed by Reno-based Accelerated Care Plus; it uses a 3-D camera and specialized computer software that captures a patient’s precise movement during “skilled” therapeutic exercises.

Contrary to the old saying “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, the OmniVR is being used in about 4,000 U.S. hospitals, skilled nursing homes, outpatient clinics and in home health; patients love its resemblance to the Nintendo Wii; and, just like any interactive virtual reality game, the OmniVR is great for bringing out the competitiveness and quest for fun in patients of all ages.

How Virtual Reality Affects Your Rehab Job

With help from an OT or occupational therapy assistant, the OmniVR is, well, a virtual breeze; the OT stands with the patient—and a black walker that goes uncensored by the game—if balance is shaky. Patients have a lot of leeway in how they want to play: they can be seated, grasp the walker or stand unassisted.

This treatment is ideal for those in recovery from surgery, a fall, stroke or other degenerative and dementia related condition. If patients would rather participate in a multi-player game, the OmniVR is ideal for group rehabilitation too. Traditional therapies are practiced in conjunction with virtual rehab—an exciting new treatment in the world of occupational therapy jobs that shows the shape of things to come! Watch a demo of the OmniVR in action in this Youtube video.

Dreaming of an Occupational Therapy Career? Make it A Reality!

If you’re an OT keen on moving into A-list health care facilities that utilize what’s cutting edge, call Travel Force or apply online. We have high paying Rehab jobs and Travel occupational therapy jobs that make treatments like virtual reality an imminent reality!

Travel Force Staffing provides recruitment solutions for America’s top rated rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient and Rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, and private therapy practices located in all 50 U.S. states. Our experienced team of staffing experts place physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, surgical technologists and per diem staff and other allied healthcare professionals into therapy careers nationwide. Contact us today at 800-617-0608 for instant access to cutting edge recruitment technology, therapy career resources, news, and information.

Is Your Physical Therapy Job Benefiting From Cloud Computing?

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 01.24.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Apple iPad, Career Tips, Cloud Computing, Physical Therapist Jobs, Product Reviews, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Therapy Blogs, Videos, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy, video

Read How This Buzzword Saves Time and Money During Rehabilitation Therapy

To the non-techie, “cloud computing” is just a buzzword, the science behind its influence and functionality left to the IT experts—still, it’s interesting for rehabilitation therapists and their patients—cited by information technology sources as among the biggest beneficiaries of cloud computing—to get the pat definition of what it is and how it’s affecting those in physical therapy jobs.

A primary example of cloud computing at work, can be appreciated in the hand-held Apple iPad Touch that some rehab centers provide physical therapists in outpatient settings. The iPad captures the important details of therapy sessions for PTs—like the exact amount of time each session takes, to-the-letter impressions of therapy notes, patient scheduling, and other vital information that syncs up with offsite servers that ultimately supply more accurate information to insurers; this saves the healthcare industry billions of dollars—not to mention hassle for physical therapists who would rather, in the course of their therapy jobs, devote the lion’s share of attention to their patients, not paperwork.

Why Cloud Computing Means Less Hassle and More Space in Rehab Hospitals

In the not so long ago past, physical therapists used to wait until end of the day to transpose information from daily sessions into a PC, a limited resource in some rehab jobs; with cloud computing—a service on Amazon, Microsoft and other big names supplying on-demand computing—“waiting around”, is becoming a thing of the past! And physical therapists will notice an absence of computing hardware; cloud computing meets the data collection and record keeping needs off-site, far away from what are becoming increasingly streamlined rehab centers.

Watch an IT Professional’s Take on Cloud Computing

Watch the Cloud Computing video below to hear IT experts discuss the direct impact cloud computing is having for allied healthcare workers and American medical services at large. Consider, too—how beneficial it is to work with a premier allied healthcare agency—one that can sync you up to top physical therapy jobs, offering therapists the cutting edge and so much more on rehabilitation therapy.

Work with More Cutting Edge Technologies at Travel Force!

With advances in computer technology, healthcare facilities have more room to work because the space that used to be taken up by computers and servers is no longer necessary for managing patient data; a handy metaphor for cloud computing is this: when you plug in a light at home, do you have to know every detail—or any, for that matter, about electric companies and science to benefit from power? No, the service is just there, making your life—and the big part of it centered around therapist employment, easier. Apply online now, and get to work in a prestigious rehab hospital ASAP.

Travel Force Staffing® provides therapist recruitment solutions for America’s top rated rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient and Rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, and private therapy practices located in all 50 U.S. states. Our experienced team of staffing experts place physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, per diem staff, and other allied healthcare professionals into therapy careers nationwide. Contact us today for instant access to cutting edge recruitment technology, therapy career resources, news, and information.

Footnote: Read more about how cloud computing is positively impacting rehab jobs and healthcare at large, in this recent article from Information Week.

Virtual Reality Games Provide Pain Distraction for Burn Victims During Therapy

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 01.04.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapist Jobs, Product Reviews, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Therapy Blogs, Travel Therapist, Videos, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy, video

Texas rehab therapy jobs are getting more interesting, thanks to headline news from Shriners Hospitals in Galveston, where the virtual reality game, SnowWorld, is being used during physical and occupational therapy sessions for burn victims. The rehab hospital, on the map for providing total burn care to children for decades, is taking part in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health; it examines the effects of pain distraction and its positive impact on pain tolerance. The medium supplying this welcomed distraction? Virtual reality games!

To date, the results have been both very positive and encouraging. SnowWorld—in use and viewable in the video below —calms patients, reduces their pain and allows them to complete more rigorous and productive therapy regimes with their PTs and OTs, compared with patients who did not use the virtual reality game during therapy.

Patients in Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospitals Experience Better Therapy Sessions with Virtual Reality

The interesting thing to note about SnowWorld is that, unlike other virtual reality games, it lacks characters, detailed storylines or complicated rules; patients simply lie back and have fun with it—the game’s creators describe it as being totally immersed in a cool, virtual world proven to temporarily alter pain receptors in the patient’s brain, thus distracting them from the more grueling aspects of occupational and physical therapy.

Because occupational therapists and physical therapists provide these patients with the exercises they need to help retain skin elasticity and avoid multiple surgeries, they can fully appreciate a virtual reality game like SnowWorld, and look forward to the pain distraction it provides—not only as a way to get patients more excited about working together, but as a way to accomplish their goals faster and with less resistance.

Work in Texas Physical Therapy Jobs at Rehab Hospitals with Cutting-Edge Technology

With world-renowned rehabilitation hospitals employing virtual reality and enjoying its success, Texas physical therapy jobs for allied health professionals are using advanced technology in their physical and occupational therapy careers—these are lucrative professions in high demand and continue to climb as we enter the new year of 2011.

Call Travel Force today at 1-800-617-0608 or apply online, for all the best opportunities in top ranking rehabilitation hospitals nationwide.

Travel Force Staffing® provides therapist recruitment solutions for America’s top rated rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient and Rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, and private therapy practices located in all 50 U.S. states. Our experienced team of staffing experts place physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, per diem staff, and other allied healthcare professionals into therapy careers nationwide. Contact us today for instant access to cutting edge recruitment technology, therapy career resources, news, and information.

Occupational Therapists Are Essential in Helping Children with Sensory Processing Disorder

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 12.06.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapist Jobs, Therapist Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, Videos, video

SPD a condition that falls under Autism Spectrum Disorder

Occupational therapy careers are essential in treating patients with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)—a condition diagnosed at an early age in patients experiencing difficulties in using their senses, from cognitive disabilities, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, cochlear implants or—for the majority of adolescents with SPD—autism.

Are you an Occupational Therapist with the key?

Occupational therapy is key in unlocking how the senses work and how autistic children process information using the 5 senses. In OT jobs, you can take your occupational therapist career in many different directions; if your goal is to work with adolescent patients with SPD, be prepared to do the following during therapy sessions:

• Administer standardized tests
• Conduct clinical observations and interviews
• Promote all aspects of body awareness
• Initiate ideas that put patients in action
• Help patients anticipate, as well as execute unfamiliar motor actions.

Sobering Autism Statistics Mean Occupational Therapists are in High Demand

With new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that an average of 1 in 110 children have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it’s clear that therapists trained to help patients with ASD are in high demand.

If your clinical expertise shines brightest in helping young patients become more independent in dressing, feeding themselves, staying safe in the community, enjoying social interactions—basically learning to thrive in the everyday—than taking on cases of Sensory Processing Disorder is ideal. The video provided here, features a snapshot of a day-in-the-life of a successful occupational therapist, addressing the needs of very young patients, with conditions classified as ASD.

Studies on Sensory Processing Disorder Grab Attention from Occupational Therapists

Newborns have different tolerances for sensory stimulation; studies show that preemies are often hypersensitive enough to sight, sound or touch, that over stimulation creates changes in vital signs. As children grow, differences in their sensory experiences can affect their behavior and learning—ample opportunity for an occupational therapist to step in and correct deficits and abnormalities in learning skills. Therapists working with SPD patients may work in three different subtypes of the disorder:

• Sensory modulation disorder
• Sensory discrimination disorder
• Sensory-based motor disorder

What do these different categories have in common? They all involve some kind of disruption in learning. Occupational therapy is the key to grounding the patient, by helping him understand his body’s location in space; and to better function in and understand the world around us all. While occupational therapists help patients avoid problematic situations, it is also their job to open doors patients may previously have viewed as being closed.

Open Doors for Somebody today! Use Travel Force as the Ultimate Job Finder and Best in Occupational Therapy Career Resources

Link into continuously updated career resources, like license and credentialing links at Travel Force. As a travel therapist you have the opportunity to make your mark in award winning hospitals from coast to coast. Call a Travel Force recruiter at 1-800-617-0608 or apply online today. Nationwide Occupational Therapy jobs are waiting to be filled by OTs just like you!

Occupational Therapy Resources:

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) provides a wealth of data concerning emerging healthcare trends in treating autism spectrum disorders, which include a large number of SPD cases. Occupational Therapists are encouraged to bookmark the AOTA site if they’re looking for news, conference sessions, articles, books, research, or other autism resources.

Footnote: The Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation offers information for parents of children in occupational therapy to treat this condition and others associated with ASD.

California Physical Therapists Use Space Age Technology Described as an Anti-Gravity Treadmill in Patient Rehabilitation

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 11.16.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Locations, Physical Therapist Jobs, Product Reviews, Therapist Jobs, Therapist Jobs Postings, Top Rehab Careers, Top Therapy Blogs, Videos, medical robotics, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

California physical therapists never put a man on the moon, but thanks to a new anti-gravity treadmill prototype called the AlterG, patients feel like they’re walking on it. Developed by the Palo Alto Rehabilitation Research and Development Center in collaboration with NASA, the AlterG is the first FDA approved medical device of its kind, benefiting patients at a Veterans Medical Center, who say the AlterG helps them keep their weight down without pain in their knees, as well as enable a level of fitness unseen by them in years.

How does the Anti-Gravity Treadmill Work?

For post op knee and hip (physical therapy) patients, an anti-gravity treadmill is literally taking the pressure off rehabilitation. Patients begin by zipping themselves into the treadmill’s pouch. The machine alters body weight and how much of it is used during a workout, by using air pressure technology to effectively “lift” the patient; this reduces the normal amount of pressure and weight at critical joints. Physical therapists fascinated by this NASA developed technology can read in-depth product information at the AlterG website.

The AlterG Permits Physical Therapists to Have More Control

At the Palo Alto VA hospital, California Physical Therapist Jobs entailing the use of the AlterG mean learning how to manipulate its touch-screen interface; this adjusts the distribution of the patient’s body weight. The ability to control these settings enables therapists to modify the functions of the treadmill over time, in accordance to a patient’s treatment plan. PTs using the anti-gravity treadmill say it’s preferable to a pool (treadmill) because the AlterG allows better control of weight baring exercise.

Major Medical Centers, Sports and Fitness Programs Already on Board with the AlterG

Innovative technology like an anti-gravity treadmill is two fold in its beneficially; not only does it make some therapist jobs in California easier for PTs hoping to hasten the rehabilitation of patients after surgery, but the U.S. Veterans using the device enjoy the adjustability it offers; the AlterG is giving them the chance to keep pace more comfortably with their own unique speed of healing. For PTs in California physical therapy jobs, patients’ healing seems to be getting faster—not quite the speed of light—but expedient enough to make headlines.

Our Physical Therapy Jobs Are in Cutting Edge Outpatient Centers, Rehab Centers & Clinics

Make great news of your own by getting a top physical therapy job today! Travel Force staffs therapists in several of America’s best hospitals ranked “Best Rehabilitation Hospitals” by the U.S. News & World Report; these facilities are right on track with emerging trends in healthcare and cutting edge physical therapy solutions. Call as at 1-800-617-0608 or apply online! Recruiters are standing by to match your talents, not just with California physical therapy jobs but opportunities nationwide!

Robotic Exoskeletons Are Helping Stroke Survivors Recover Mobility

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 11.09.2010 | Category ALEX, Product Reviews, Therapy Jobs, Videos, medical robotics, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

Emerging trends in medical robotics join forces with Physical Therapists employed in top rehab hospitals

Physical therapists in America’s best rehabilitation hospitals expect to treat large numbers of patients who are stroke survivors. Current statistics hover around 700,000 stroke victims per year, with a documented 3 million survivors dealing with chronic after effects. Medical robotics are joining forces with physical therapy to help them recover.

Take, ALEX (Actively Driven Leg Exoskeleton), which improves gait function in stroke survivors over a six-week time frame; this device was the focus of the 2010 BioRob Conference, held in Tokyo this September. Stroke survivors involved in ALEX studies have regained leg function and overcome compensatory problems, like shallow footpath, poor balance and knee flexion—common after effects of brain injuries.

For the PT specialist and physical therapist graduate just breaking into rehabilitation jobs, robotic exoskeletons are receiving high reviews from doctors and patients alike.

How do robotic exoskeletons modulate foot movement in stroke survivors?

ALEX retrains the patient’s brain, encouraging movement through a pre-selected footpath with built-in window of variability, controlled by the trainer or physical therapist. ALEX corrects movements outside the desired window using an elastic resistance similar to what physical therapists are used to doing manually; this spares the PT the physical exhaustion associated with starting the patient’s current foot trajectory and morphing it toward a more normal one; because of ALEX, medical robotics does the work, rather than use physical therapists to provide weight supported treadmill training.

Read More about Biomedical Robotics and its Endless Possibilities

If ALEX goes mainstream, it could spare hundreds of thousands of stroke survivor patients from chronic muscle and back strain, joint pathology and other affirmatives that impede normal range of movement. Physical therapists who want a more in depth look at ALEX and the ALEX II device can read highlights gleaned from the presentation at the IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Robotics; Spoiler alert: exoskeletons were a hot topic!

This comes as no surprise. As ALEX makes its way toward a successful clinical trial, the possibilities seem endless. We are, after all, talking about a virtual training environment that may one day train athletes to learn new skills more quickly. Whether technological advances like these occur inside or outside the rehabilitative hospital, ALEX is helping to do what physical therapists have always done: bring motion to life!

Are you a physical therapist graduate interested in doing the same? Spend time connecting with Travel Force Therapy Career Resources to stay abreast of physical therapy news and land top rehab jobs. Call Travel Force at 800-617-0608 or apply online today—you’ll be glad you did!

Celebrate National Physical Therapy Month this October

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 10.01.2010 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Monthly Events, Physical Therapist Education, Physical Therapist Jobs, Respiratory Therapy, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, Videos, physical therapist licensing, physical therapy

October puts physical therapists in the spotlight! In 1982 the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) changed from National Physical Therapy Week, to a month long celebratory event for physical therapists nationwide. This year’s 2010 theme is: Move Forward: Physical Therapists bring motion to life—not just a slogan, but APTA sponsored site; one that gives both therapists and their patients, the chance to explore the positive effects of physical therapy for everyone involved.

National Physical Therapy Month does its part to increase the general public’s awareness of what physical therapists do, and the diversity of patients helped by their expertise. Whether young, old, injured in an accident, or as the result of illness and disease, a licensed physical therapist, often board certified in one or more of 8 physical therapy specialties, is highly trained to improve patients’ range of motion, balance, strength and flexibility.

But as a physical therapist working for Travel Force, or likeminded staffing agency, you already know this—we’re just giving you extra reasons to bring National Physical Therapy month to your patients’ attention; they may benefit from APTA’s “Motion to Life Site”, where a quiz, reader poll and more lets them access their current level of motion, and see if they have a health issue that merits a visit to your office.

Why are physical therapists making headlines?

As the world watched Spain capture the world cup during the FIFA games this summer, the general public was more aware than ever of the need for physical therapists and their ability to heal, as seen in this sports related injuries video.

Health Information Technology (IT) has also taken the physical therapy world by storm, and offers new and innovative ways of preparing therapists for future sessions with patients; you’ll enjoy watching the video that enhances our article about virtual reality training.

With so much to sit back and take in, maybe we should pop some popcorn; instead please accept our simple thanks. Travel Force wishes to add its own “tip of the hat” to a worldwide appreciation for what physical therapists do. We are proud to offer physical therapy jobs from coast to coast and everywhere in between that challenge and reward qualified applicants with top benefits, competitive pay, as well as traveling and permanent therapy positions in some of the best rehabilitative hospitals in America.

National Physical Therapy Month is just one of many occasions that serve to remind physical therapists of a competitive present and future in their field; the APTA cites a 27% jump in hiring by 2016 (as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), and the majority of physical therapists with doctorates in hand (DPT degree) by 2020.

Travel Force career resources help you stay on track 365 days a year

Travel Force Staffing offers current and aspiring physical therapists and Physical Therapy Assistants career resources that help them stay on track toward achieving licensing whether they are foreign trained or educated in the U.S. We have quick links to APTA accredited physical therapy schools and member board information in all 50 states. Check us out, and apply online today!

In the meantime, think about the ways physical therapy touches the lives of your patients and leave us a comment about how you, personally, are bringing motion to life!