
Physical Therapy is a health care profession that provides treatment to individuals to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and function throughout life. This includes providing treatment in circumstances where movement and function are threatened by aging, injury, disease or environmental factors.
Physical Therapy online degree programs often feature Collaborative Practice for Patient Centered Medicine, Alternative Medical Systems, Mind-Body Interventions, Biologically Based Therapies, Manipulative and Body-Based Methods, and Energy Therapies. Many students specialize in a subset field within physical therapy. These fields include orthopaedic, cardio-pulmonary, neurological, pediatric, geriatric, and integumentary.
Online colleges and universities that teach Physical Therapy typically include courses in anatomy, biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as classes in mathematics and the social sciences. Specific Physical Therapy curricula tend to focus on biomechanics, neuro-anatomy, human growth and development, manifestations of disease, examination techniques, and therapeutic procedures .
As breakthroughs in medicine mean more people will survive violent trauma--who will subsequently need physical therapy, plus more people than ever participate in sports and outdoor activities--meaning more injuries, the demand for skilled Physical Therapy professionals is expected to grow rapidly.