Is it just me, or are all physical therapists incompetant?

I'm a bit biased as I went to a school with a great PT program, roomed with PTs, ran with many on the xc and track teams, and ended up dating and marrying a PT. A PT showed me exercises that basically cured my achilles tenditis when the athletic trainers and doctors all said I have two choices: have surgery or quit running. I have been injury free ever since he worked on me (five years ago).

In my experience with PTs, they want to fix the problem, not just treat the symptoms. They are very well-versed in anatomy and kinesiology, and their profession is backed by solid scientific research (unlike chiropracters, although the new generation seems to be a bit better than the quacks of old). Most PTs "dumb down" the exercises prescribed to patients because most people just wouldn't do the more complicated ones. I know I wouldn't.

That being said, some schools are just horrible places to learn the profession and turn out PTs that are worthless. Many are just in it for the money, like those you mentioned who cram as many patients as they can into the schedule. Some clinics are horrible too, but that happens with any profession. There always seem to be some Doctor Nicks out there.

The insurance thing is a bitch, but I can understand it because without payment from insurance companies, PTs would not get paid. And no matter how fulfilling a career is, not many people would want to work 50 hours a week for free. Also, a lot of states do not have direct access, which means all of a PT's treatment must first go through a doctor, which further complicates the issue. The billing situation varies from clinic to clinic (some are very strict about keeping track of billable hours, others are more concerned with treating the patient).

As the APTA makes more national guidelines (and as the DPT is phased in over the new decade), you will see a positive change in the PT industry. Many of the poorly run clinics will go out of business, and the quacks will have no place to practice.

yea, it's just you.

I've been reading similar posts to this one for a few months now, and have continued to simply bite my tongue. Now, after reading this persons post, i can't help but respond. People on this board continue to post shit about PT's on this board without any knowledge of the profession or why we do what we do. I've read posts saying that we try to charge as much as we possibly can by using modalities and treatments that dont help, i've seen people post that the exercise programs we set up are utterly useless, and i've also learned that I am just a glorified massage therapist. I have to say that the whole letsrun experience has been very eye opening for me. I have now come to realize that six years of schooling were worthless, and that i just do what i do to try to keep people from feeling better and just charge their insurance companies up the ass.

All of this being said, I have noticed that there aren't too many PT's posting injury advice on these boards anymore or medical professionals at all really. People post a question, then bump it 10 times before they just let it go. If you guys are curious why nobody in healthcare responds, just read this thread.

To I heard PT's, i really appreciate your comments. I have treated a few of runners in my community and have had success with all of them. I guess it was just a lucky guess on my part.

To the person who started this thread, don't worry, I will be sure to keep my incompetence to myself, and you can keep on spending your "running career" injured.

Have a nice day.

Ed

It's you, or the PT place you go to. Mine have been very helpful with therapy and advice.

Speaking as yet another PT who doesn't think that the profession is worthless, I'd like to make a suggestion to runn. How about it if you state your general location, and we can suggest a clinic for you? I know many of the PT's in my community, and which clinics to go to, and which not to go to. Maybe making recommendations on the web is out of line, but I don't really think so.

As to the phasing in of the DPT, I know one recent grad from a DPT program who has failed the licensure exam three times so far. As a grad of a pretty good bachelor's program, I am not so sure that the DPT is all that much better.

OP, you are sooo right! I went to a top twenty school, you might think the PT program is good BUT the help in the training room was a joke!

Funny story: My first year my knee was killing me so after a run the PT told me to heat it, the next day she told me to ice it. I was like "heat or ice? what should I do?" She seemed confused and told me it didnt matter, just do one of them!

PT's are a joke when it comes to overuse injuries. Give them a sprained ankle and they can wrap it like a champ, give them tendonitis and they have NO IDEA what to do.

please note: most of the pro-pt responders ARE pt's themselves. Boy, I'm sure they are being objective in their responses. If you are in college, DO NOT WASTE TIME WITH THE PT IN THE TRAINING ROOM! They will try to pawn you off to the pt's so they can save the doctor's time for the football players but if you push hard enough you will get to see the doctor eventually.

RIPT wrote:

People on this board continue to post shit about PT's on this board without any knowledge of the profession or why we do what we do.

welcome to the world of medicine, Ed. Doctors have been hearing the same complaints for years. And while the profession is far from perfect, it seems the same people are doing the complaining all the time.

That "PT in the training room" wasn't a PT at all...he/she was an AT (athletic trainer). A bit similar, but very, very different. Please don't lump PTs in with ATs...it just isn't very nice.

ny blues wrote:

please note: most of the pro-pt responders ARE pt's themselves. Boy, I'm sure they are being objective in their responses. If you are in college, DO NOT WASTE TIME WITH THE PT IN THE TRAINING ROOM! They will try to pawn you off to the pt's so they can save the doctor's time for the football players but if you push hard enough you will get to see the doctor eventually.

I hear what you are saying about the DPT. I just happened to go to a school which offered the DPT and the rate of passing on the exams was very, very high. So there probably isn't a correlation between the two, the school just did a very good job.

WVTD wrote:

As to the phasing in of the DPT, I know one recent grad from a DPT program who has failed the licensure exam three times so far. As a grad of a pretty good bachelor's program, I am not so sure that the DPT is all that much better.

get 'em, dude!

i heart pts wrote:

That "PT in the training room" wasn't a PT at all...he/she was an AT (athletic trainer). A bit similar, but very, very different. Please don't lump PTs in with ATs...it just isn't very nice.

I hear that about AT's. The one we have is so useless for running injuries. "Uhhh, you really just need to stop running on it and ice and stretch." Every single goddamn time.

greg wrote:

I hear that about AT's. The one we have is so useless for running injuries. "Uhhh, you really just need to stop running on it and ice and stretch." Every single goddamn time.

What the hell do you expect him to do? Wave his magic ultrasound wand and make your stress fracture go away?

Something like this happened, though I was covered by insurance. It didn't make a difference to their set salary if they satisfied me or not, so I got a pair of the shittiest inserts ever, completely out of whack, and they refused to admit to error, even after I had pointed out several things wrong with them. There are some good PT's like everything else out there, but they're hard to come by, and usually not cheap at all.

Personally i have never seen any insurance company that paid any part of orthotics. I work in RI, so i'm not sure what the insurance companies pay in other states. As far as PT's/AT's not knowing what to do with overuse and running related injuries, I think you're just getting involved with PT's who don't deal much with runners or "active" individuals. If you don't see a healthcare worker who regularly treats sports injuries, then that is the answer you will get. You have to remember, the patient population for physical therapists is very largely people over the age of 50, most who have health problems related to obesity and the medical complications that go along with it. If a PT like that suddenly gets a patient who is 22 and is very active, they aren't going to know what to do with them.

I'm fortunate in that i work in a clinic that treats both of these populations, so i'm familiar with both types.

I have also worked in a clinic that treated mainly chronic pain patients. The PTs in that clinic had treated those types of patients for like 6 years minimum. So...when they get a patient with any overuse injury, the response is simply "well you can't be doing that anymore." And its not that they are bad PT's, its just that the athlete doesn't belong in their clinic.

I was told by my PCP after i was diagnosed with a femoral neck stress fracture that it was time to hang up the shoes because my bones would never handle the impact of running again. Nine months later i ran the NYC marathon.

So, in closing to my long ramble...I think that you are correct in saying that some PT's dont know what to do with athletes injuries. However, you the consumer need to find a PT who is good at treating sports related injuries. I have found that i'm the aggressive one with my runners. I tell them that they should go try a 15 minute run today and they look at me like i'm crazy. It all depends on who is treating you and what direction they have gone in with their career.

WVTD, I live in the Northeast adn if you read what I wrote I praised my PT. I do not need advice. I know of mine and at least two others in my relatively small New York State community that are exemplary.

Thanks, I guess.

You probably just need to find the right one. I've had two PTs that have literally saved my running. Both were associated with a group that provided service to a professional basketball team. Try finding someone a little more high-powered than the guy who helps granny with her hip replacement exercises.

I've got AT and been to about 4 different PT's and Podiatrists etc.. rubbbbish the lot of them. By reading on the internet and forums and such I have found out more. None of them knew what eccentric calf exercises were for instance.

I'm sure there are many good ones out there but it's not f***ing brain surgery is it? just read up about it and you can probably sort 75% your injuries esp things like sprained ankles, shin splints, pulled hamstrings etc..

plenty are just acting like cuddly teddy bears (a bit of massage etc) for half an hour and then snap that cheque out of your hand.

I find them to be more knowledgeable then doctors. My experience is that most doctors are either incompetant or evil. For example my doctor advised me to stop running on my knees because I was getting older and I may need possible surgery. Well, thank God for my phyiscal therapist who got me back into shape with muscles balancing exercises. My knees are good as new. Doctors are worthless not physical therapiest. You got it backwards.