As a travel physical therapy worker, you can expect to expand your professional knowledge. In addition to learning how to work with patients, you'll have the opportunity to advance your treatment techniques as well as strengthen your network connections. A few tricks of the trade you may want to pay attention to:
Use of compression wrapping
Whether you have a patient who is suffering from a knee injury or joint pain due to old age, he or she will find relief from compression wrapping. This is a great and effective way to subside discomfort, while still allowing the individual to move freely. Additionally, most compression wraps can be reused. However, keep in mind that these are only to be used during short periods of time – such as during a rehabilitation session.
The hands-on approach
Through the use of massage, stretching and other hands-on exercises, you can provide patients with relief using manual therapy. As you are in charge of the movements, it will provide your patient's muscles with a "reeducation" on how to operate. Oftentimes, when someone has undergone an injury or surgery, he or she will contort the body into potentially harmful movements in an attempt to protect the sensitive area.
Breathing with balloons
Some patients you come across on travel therapy jobs may have suffered a collapsed lung or some other type of injury that makes it difficult for them to breath. In these cases, did you know that a balloon can help to rebuild the strength of this organ? You will find that it is difficult for the patient to inflate the balloon at first, but it's easy to track progress – and the method can prove to be greatly effective for rehab.
Traction for back pain
Patients who have suffered a herniated disc are going to come to you for pain relief. However, it can be frustrating going through rehabilitation with any type of back pain, as standing and sitting can both put pressure on the spine that leads to overall discomfort. By using manual traction, you can separate a patient's vertebrae in order to provide relief for the nerves. This technique will also put less pressure on the disc cartilage, and could help move a patient's progress along more efficiently.
These are just a few of the many things you can learn while working as a travel PT. Be sure to ask questions while on the job – it's a great way to learn about the techniques of your co-workers.