Certified Physical Therapy Assistants: Administering Miracles in Small Doses
By Gabby Hyman
When Superman himself is paralyzed, mere mortals must rise to uncelebrated gestures of personal heroism. On May 27, 1995 Christopher Reeve, who had starred as the man of steel in Superman movies, was paralyzed in a tragic fall from a horse in an accident that left him feeling like it would be "better for everyone" if he were to die. In spite of his grave injuries, Reeve was to receive nearly a decade of passionate care from certified physical therapy assistants who guided him to relative ease and comfort.
Although he eventually died on October 10, 2004 at the age of 52, Reeve's example of courage and his commitment to help others who suffer from paralysis by spinal injury or stroke survives today as an example of human dignity. Certified physical therapy assistants were key members of the team of physiotherapy career professionals that kept Reeve's hopes alive and rendered his progress nothing short of a miraculous.
Today, physical therapists receive career training to directly treat motor and sensory impairments that disable victims of stroke and spinal cord injuries. They administer exercises that help patients gain flexibility or range of motion, to recover from spasms, to regain bladder and bowel functions, or build endurance and muscle strength. Certified physical therapy assistants may employ stretch bands, heat and ice, and ultrasound. And they teach the impaired to use assistive braces, wheelchairs, and other critical devices. They work on the firing line of tragedy and hope every day.
The Heartbreaking Injuries Treated by Physical Therapy Assistants
According to University of Alabama at Birmingham's Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, there are some 11,000 new cases of spinal cord injuries reported annually, with more than 250,000 persons with such injuries living in the United States today. Between a third and a half of these injuries are caused by motorcycle, automobile, or pedestrian accidents.
A sudden blow fractures or permanently dislocates the victim's vertebrae as bone fragments or disc materials block communication between the brain and the spinal cord. Neural axons, which carry nerve signals along the spine, stop functioning, and paralysis begins. Untreated or not, the damage often deepens over time.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reports that one third of all victims with critical neck injuries require long-term breathing and respiratory support. Consequently, most people who suffer severe spinal impairment as a result of an injury or stroke depend on consistent, urgent care for potential respiratory and heart failure. More importantly for physical therapy assistants, these patients suffer chronic pain so severe that many victims prefer to give up entirely.
For those who receive training in physical therapy careers, day to day work with spinal injury and stroke victims is by turns saddening and exhilarating. Spinal cord injuries often lead to pressure sores and disfiguring skin complications. Physical therapy assistants can get tremendous satisfaction in minimizing these conditions and providing physical relief of chronic pain.
Breakthroughs and Quiet Triumphs
Reports from Journal of the American Heart Association are equally uplifting in citing small miracles and daily wonders accomplished by specialists in physiotherapy careers. Their study noted that stroke sufferers who received at-home rehabilitation from physical therapists "significantly improved their endurance, balance and walking ability."
After leaving the hospital, the successful patients received ongoing treatment from certified physical therapy assistants to learn and practice mobility and flexibility exercises, to work on balance, range of motion, and upper extremity training.
Advancements in treatment and technology have also contributed to the work done by trained physical therapists. One of the latest physical rehabilitation regimens is treadmill-assisted walking (also known as locomotor training), where patients can actually create new functioning in their central nervous systems. The ability of the spinal cord to retrain itself to take on tasks is called "plasticity."
Doctors are testing cutting-edge electrical stimulation devices that, once implanted, can help certified physical therapy assistants to help patients learn to feed themselves, or improve breathing and bladder/urinary control.
Physiotherapy career professionals are turning to the latest techniques in aquatic therapy to relieve muscle stiffness and chronic pain through gentle exercise. Not only do patients find physical improvement from the warm-water routine, but they experience stress relief and relaxation. The emotional rewards from alleviating physical, emotional, and social suffering can be great for both the patient and physical therapy assistant.
One ultimate goal is to restore a degree of patient independence. The Christopher Reeve Foundation reports that even regaining partial functioning can represent a monumental breakthrough to many. For quadriplegics, the restoration of arm and hand functions can do wonders. The restoration of sexual function for paraplegics constitutes a major breakthrough. Improving bladder and bowel functions is critical to all victims. In all of these triumphs, exercise is the primary restorative modality and, for this, physical therapy assistants play an indispensable role.
A Triumph of Olympian Proportions
When a patient achieves victory - large or small - their newly connected nervous system seems attached psychologically with their rehabilitation professional. Physical therapy training cannot adequately prepare the physical therapy assistant for the sublime triumph of the human spirit. The following is one of these inspirational tales.
Michigan resident Cheryl Angelelli began competitive swimming at only 8 years old. But she became a quadriplegic at 14 after a tragic racing dive into a swimming pool that broke her neck. She was left without the use of her legs and fingers. Following initial treatment at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Angelelli began swimming again, spending almost two hours a day in the pool.
Angelelli returned from the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games with two bronze medals in swimming. Although permanently grounded to her wheelchair on Earth, in the pool Angelelli is a superhero. She's the American record holder in the women's 4x50 medley relay and Pan American record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle.
Angelelli went on to earn a journalism degree and today works as director of marketing and public relations for the Rehabilitation Institute. Her story speaks to the will of the spirit and the rehabilitative potential of physical therapy.
About the Author
Gabby Hyman has written for print and online media for more than 20 years. He has created online content for eToys, GoTo.com, Siebel Systems, Avaya, and Nissan UK. He has also been a web consultant to the Governor of California. As an author of fiction, journalism, and poetry, Gabby is a former English professor for the University of Illinois, University of Alaska, and Old Dominion University. He holds an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Alabama.
