Physical Therapy Diagnosis: A Case Study

Differential diagnosis course helped the author to gain a higher level knowledge on how to use clinical and academic knowledge in reaching accurate decisions in the process of diagnosis. Maryland is a state where patients have direct access to physical therapy without any restrictions. As a clinician who would tend to see lot of direct access patients, this course gave an in depth perception and confidence to the author in handling difficult conditions with more clinical accuracy on addressing immediate medical needs of the patient. Though, the physical therapists’ must have the skills of determining physical therapy diagnosis in a direct access state, the skills of identifying medical diagnosis and potential red flags will make this profession more valuable as …show more content…
Going through differential diagnosis skills requirements in all major systems of body was very refreshing and informative. Encountering clinical situations depicted in assignments were very useful for this author in understanding the importance of screening all systems. Establishing practice guidelines within the scope of physical therapy practice in recognizing the signs and symptoms associated with endocrine and metabolic disorders will be an added advantage for the author in future. Physical therapist must necessary have the essential knowledge of possible underlying pathologies for all the signs and symptoms commonly presented. Differentia diagnosis course helped this clinician to take a more professional and careful approach while assessing common conditions in therapy population. For example, low back pain is the most frequent condition for patients seeking care from physical therapists in outpatient settings. According to Mechelli, Probaski & Boissonnault, 2008,