This free online diploma course shows you how to support the treatment of physical therapy patients as an assistant.

This course begins with an overview of the history of physical therapy and lays out the differences between a physical therapist and a physical therapy aide. We describe career opportunities and outline the skills required to complete the daily work of a physical therapist and therapy aide. We provide some important medical technology and examine the general equipment used in physical therapy before explaining the use of orthotics. We also study the treatments for common medical disorders, including elbow range of motion (ROM) impairment and different forms of modality and ways to increase mobility, like ice massages.

The course then investigates the basic structure and function of the human body, including the different types of muscle tissue and common cardiopulmonary pathologies. We lay out the difference between the axial and appendicular skeleton. We then show you how to correctly turn and position the patient and include tips for lifting and ‘scooting’ transfers. You will also learn about pressure ulcers and bed mobility. Finally, we cover therapeutic exercise techniques, agents and modalities ranging from the use of crutches to hydrotherapy.

You can protect yourself and your patients from injury by learning the different methods for transferring them to and from chairs, beds and wheelchairs. The different therapeutic exercises provided by this course can help your patients to recover and regain full use of their bodies. This course describes the day-to-day work of a therapy aide and the traits that might make you good at this rewarding job so sign up to gain a valuable new skill that can enable you to help others.