Where to Find Research on Physical Therapy?
Millions of dollars are poured into physical therapy research and education every year. This research has wide support because it has far-reaching consequences, not just to the physical therapy practitioner, but more importantly, to the patient who is suffering from motor impairment, and to the patient's family and caregivers.
There is a wealth of physical therapy information on the internet. If you are a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, the first website to look at is the website of the American Physical Therapy Association. This contains useful information on ongoing projects as well as planned seminars. Attending these seminars would be a great way to be in touch with your field and know the latest from recognized experts.
Another great way through which you would be able to find all the latest news on physical therapy research and continue in your education is to subscribe to one or two of these journals, most of which are also available online. Aside from general physical therapy journals such as the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association and the Advance for Physical Therapists and PT Assistants, there are also journals for specializations such as cardiovascular and pulmonary therapy, sports therapy and neurologic therapy.
Well, in order to help you get started, here's a quick list of the different PT journals currently available online:
Physical Therapy Journals
Unfortunately, some of the content that's available in the aforementioned journals are not always readily available to non-members. But if you are not a physical therapist and you want to look up the latest on PT because you or your family member needs physical therapy, there is another option. You can go to medical websites such as WebMD and look up the articles that are relevant to you. The articles are written not for doctors, but for lay people who are seeking better health. There is also medical news that will let you know about certain studies that are relevant to you. You can also subscribe to their newsletters on specialized topics. This is one of the best ways when it comes to keeping abreast with developments in the field of physical therapy, even if you are not a therapist or therapy assistant.
Also, it might be very helpful to call your local hospital and ask if there are any forums or seminars scheduled for physical therapy topics. Depending on the topic, some hospitals let patients attend these with the rest of the doctors. This is also a good way for you to participate in physical therapy research and education yourself, by giving the doctors feedback on ongoing PT treatments you or your family member is receiving.