Liability, Non-PT Conditions
My friend is a physical therapist. I asked them if they would work on my knee and they said no! Why don't they want to help me?
I can almost guarantee you that your friend does want to help but they are worried about the repercussions if they do. If your friend is a student, retired, or had a career change, they probably don't have the legal certification to practice physical therapy. If they're licensed, that doesn't cover patients outside of their clinic/hospital/company and liability insurance may not apply.
Even if they're the greatest PT in the galaxy and they do everything right in their treatment, there's always something that can go wrong. And when something goes wrong, even if it's not the PT's or patient’s fault, the physical therapist can be sued and/or lose their license to practice and/or go to jail. If they're retired and just lose their license, it might not be as big of a deal to them. However, if they're a student and lose their ability to get a license, they’re suddenly saddled with tons of school debt, potentially no good career path, and possibly dashed hopes and dreams. So, asking someone to look at you or your friend outside of their practice might seem like a small favor and you could have no intention of seeking legal action, even if something does go wrong, but the potential consequences for the PT are life-altering. It often pains a PT to say no to a friend and they may fret over it for a long time but it's a healthy boundary for them to have and that should be respected.
"Rodin's Thinker" by steven n fettig is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
If I go to a physical therapist and they think something is amiss with my health, can they talk to my doctor about it?
Absolutely! I know some things about going to physical therapy might seem tedious or might not make the most sense, like if they take your vitals every visit, but these little check ins can be life-saving. There are many stories out there about PTs who noticed something was off during a session that didn’t show up for a patient during a visit to their primary care physician. And this is why we say VITALS ARE VITAL.
There are a lot of things that physical therapists cannot officially diagnose themselves, due to licensing laws or lack of imaging resources, but they are extremely knowledgeable and can communicate with your physician. Or, if you’re more comfortable with it, you can communicate any concerns to your physician as well.
