Physical therapy as a profession started in the late 1800s to early 1900s as a way of aiding rehabilitation of patients with poliomyelitis, which first affected children in the United States in 1894. One of the first people to practice physical therapy as a profession was a woman named Mary McMillan, who later served in World War I. She and other physical rehabilitation specialists and reconstruction aides, as they were called then, founded the American Women’s Physical Therapeutic Association in 1921. The next year, the name of the organization was changed to the American Physiotherapy Association, and men were admitted. Current practitioners are physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent data (annual average, 2002), 72% of physical therapists are women. Approximately 200 colleges and universities offer educational programs in physical therapy. The minimum educational requirement is a post-baccalaureate degree...
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Suggested Reading
Behrens, B., & Michlovitz, S. (1996). Physical agents: Theory and practice for the physical therapy assistant. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
Rothman, J., & Levine, R. (1992). Prevention practice: Strategies for physical therapy and occupational therapy. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
Scott, R. (2002). Foundations of physical therapy: A 21st century-focused view of the profession. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Suggested Resources
American Physical Therapy Association website: www.apta.org
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© 2004 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
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Hensley, P.L. (2004). Physical Therapy. In: Encyclopedia of Women’s Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48113-0_340
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48113-0_340
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