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Madison Lewis
Research and Technology
Leslie Drake
10 April 2016
Is a Physician or Physical Therapist More Beneficial for Patients of Musculoskeletal Injuries?
Abstract
In this bibliographic essay one can be sure to find the useful information that has been
researched and collected over the benefits that come with each profession, physical therapist and
physician, regarding the troubles of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries and which profession
is the more beneficial to such disorders and injuries. It is crucial to understand where to go when
dealing with these problems because it is found that musculoskeletal injuries and disorders are a
gigantic problem to the subjects of the working force. Once the injuries occur in the spine, or
neck or even in ones appendages, it can create an enormous amount of pain and lack of ability to
perform working tasks as efficiently which slows down the workforce as a whole. Therefore, one
must locate a solution to this problem, however, the difficultly lies between where to go and who
will heal such injuries and return patients back to their job in less time as possible. There has
always been an unsureness between certain therapeutic occupations; what are the different
abilities of each and how do they differ from one another. Besides just therapeutic workplaces,
patients also have a confusion between physical therapist and doctoral areas. Some will end up
being more expensive than others, have a duration of healing time longer than the other, and
whether the injury completely heals or will the injury be present in a lesser form forever.
Including varies differentiating research from many different sources and references, this

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bibliographic essay is going to help develop a better understanding for such professions and will
provide more benefits to those patients with musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.
Introduction
With passing time and technology, each profession has improved in many ways and
expanded their abilities. Therefore, the question of which would be more beneficial becomes
important with the aspect of saving money and recovery time of the injury, if there is a recovery
at all. Many researches has been located and incorporated in this bibliographic essay to help
create a deep understanding of where those abilities lie in each profession along with studies of
which musculoskeletal injuries were occurring and which profession not only improves the
injuries, but heals them in an understandable timeframe.
The Job of Physical Therapists
In order to understand which profession is more beneficial, it is necessary to make clear
what exactly are they and what is it that they do. First, covering physical therapists, The Novice
Versus the Experienced Clinician: Insights into the Work of Physical Therapist by Gail M.
Jensen, dean at Creighton University, it is made clear that, health care providers also face many
challenges of expanding body of medical knowledge, an explosion of technology, an aging
population facing diverse health problems, and shrinking financial resources for medical care.
Technology plays a big part in all profession on how they grow, however, according to the
Physical Therapist, Chiropractor, or Physician Whats the Difference? written by the
administration of Spine Sport and Physical Therapy, a physical therapists job consists of
providing treatment to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and function
throughout life which can be threatened by aging, injury, or other environmental factors.

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Orthopedic conditions, joint and soft tissue injuries, Neurological conditions, and workplace
injuries are all covered in physical therapy. Their goal is to educate you about the cause of the
problem, hands on manual techniques and instructions in exercise to improve function.
Physical therapy is part of rehabilitation therapy like occupational therapists, and speechlanguage pathologists as explained in Clinical Information Behavior of Rehabilitation
Therapists: A Review of the Research on Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and
Speech-Language Pathologists by Lorie A. Kloda, with a masters from McGill University. All
kinds aid in the problems that have to do with musculoskeletal injuries.
The Job of Physicians
Now, that it is clear what the job of a physical therapist is, it is time to review the work of
a physician. Spine Sport Physical Therapy explains how a physician is associated with a doctoral
status which works with illness, injuries, unknown symptoms, or annual checkups. Physicians
can also prescribe medications for the ailment or provide healthier lifestyle recommendations.
Additionally, it is common for a physician to refer patients to other physicians who specializes in
the area of their ailment, including physical therapists. Overall, according to Selected Issues in
Injury and Illness Prevention and the Team Physician: A Consensus Statement, the profession of
a physician is understanding the pathophysiology of the injury or illness, evaluating the known
risk factors that influence the incidence of injury or illness, implementing interventions to
minimize the influence of the risk factors, and ultimately repairing the injury or curing illness.
Musculoskeletal Disorders
With the full understanding of each profession, its time to focus on the problem in this
question that is required to be solved here, which is the musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.

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Here one can image exactly what is a musculoskeletal disorder and the problem it causes
individuals in the workforce. According to the World Health Organization Scientific Group,
musculoskeletal conditions are extremely common and costly. Matt Middlesworth, graduate from
Purdue University provided the statistic that Musculoskeletal Disorders are the largest category
of the workplace injury where companies spend about 50 billion dollars on direct costs of the
disorders. Middlesworth explains that musculoskeletal disorders or MSDs are injuries and
disorders that affect the human bodys movement or musculoskeletal system which include all
muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, discs, blood vessels, etc. There are many different names
for these disorders, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendonitis and Epicondylitis just names a few. The
WHO Scientific Group mentioned a few statistics of how low back pain has reached epidemic
proportions, being reported by about 80% of people at some time in their life, indicating the
severity of only one disorder. Also, 80% of patients with osteoarthritis have some degree of
limitation of movement, and 25% cannot perform their major daily activities of life. Ghorbanali
Mohammadi provided information on how MSDs affected high school teachers with occupation
injury which caused work interference. Most symptoms in the lower back followed by pain in the
neck. The main conditions that are being dealt with, according to Anthony D. Woolf and Bruce
Pfleger, are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and low back pain.
The More Beneficial Profession
Finally, with the information on both professions and the problem at hand, information
can be revealed about how one can go about to improve their judgment on whether to pay a visit
to the local physician or a physical therapist. On the hand of physicians, Katy OGrady, graduate
from Wooster College, suggests that the role of physical therapists and physical therapist
assistant as points of contact in referring musculoskeletal issues of patients to primary care

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physicians and health care insurers. The reason, according to Physical Therapists Referring
Patients to Physicians: A Review of Case Reports and Series, it depends on how severe the issue
is; if the patient need immediate medical care or not, however the evidence shows that this
situation rarely occurs. Also, emotions come into play with depression along with their injury for
example, which physical therapists do not consistently identify. The physical therapists
credentials possible could not be a match to a certain disease or disorder that they are dealing
with for another example, as well as medication, which usually comes from a medical
profession. Physical therapy is more long term, strengthening and stretching to regain mobility
and ease pain so patients can return to their normal daily routines. Additionally, like referral for
physicians, physicians can also refer patients to physical therapists for what was explained
before, for the rehabilitation for the issues the patients are having. However, the patients can also
have direct access to physical therapists which in turn decreases the healthcare cost and
incentivize optimal patient outcomes explained in Direct Access Compared with Referred
Physical Therapy Episodes of Care: A Systematic Review. The main factor between the two
consistently comes down to cost. Jason Richardson explained how with advanced education and
clinical requirements for physical therapists, one and self-refer and reduce the cost for their
treatment. Richardson provides information on how the US Army utilized physical therapists as
physicians extenders for musculoskeletal injuries since 1967, demonstrating that this not a new
concept, however, it is uncommon in most place because it is more likely to visit a doctor to seek
the problem first. Back to the problem of cost, it is also provided that 95% of insurance plans
cover therapy without physician referral. Ultimately, physical therapy provides a unique
combination of hands on or manual therapy with a customized exercise program. Manual
therapy results in quicker pain relief and restoration of function, also with the customized

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exercises, the patient is more likely to maintain benefits independently. If the patient is not
making significant progress within 3-4 visits, then it is deemed appropriate to refer them to a
suitable physician to aid in the problem.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, physical therapy not only appears as the more beneficial choice, but more
specifically, self-referral to a licensed physical therapy is the most appropriate path for
musculoskeletal patients. Health care consumers want the help that is most economical and most
beneficial for treating their musculoskeletal problems quickly and effectively and with the
evidence that is provided in the essay it is clear to see which profession is more obliging to visit.
Physicians should still be a priority when it comes to regular checkups and when patients are in
need of immediate care for a dire injury or illness and also in search for medication treatment,
yet dealing with issues such as musculoskeletal injuries and disorders, which are pains in the
muscles and joints and tendons all over the body, it is not necessary for the patients to seek
physician help unless the pain is severe enough. Patients of musculoskeletal injuries will benefit
more with the help of physical therapists.

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References
Boissonnault, William G., Micheal D. Ross. Physical Therapists Referring Patients to
Physicians: A Review of Case Reports and Series. Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical
Therapy, May 2012. Print.
Jensen, Gail M., Katherine F. Shepard, and Laurie M. Hack. The Novice Versus the
Experienced Clinician: Insights into the Work of the Physical Therapist. Journal of the
American Physical Therapy Association, May 1990. Print.
Kloda, Lorie A., Joan C. Bartlett. Clinical Information Behavior of Rehabilitation Therapists: A
Review of the Research on Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Speech-Language
Pathologists Journal of the Medical Library Association, 02 Oct. 2014. Print.
Middlesworth, Matt. The Definition and Causes of Musculoskeletal Disorders(MSDs).
Ergonomics Plus, May 2015. Print.
Mohammadi, Gorbanali. Musculoskeletal Complaints Among High School Teachers. World
Scientific. Journal of Musculoskeletal Research, 29 July 2013. Print.
OGrady, Katy. A Role for PTs in Early Access to Musculoskeletal Care Physical Therapy,
Sep. 2015. Print.
Ojha, Heidi A, Rachel S. Snyder and Todd E. Davenport. Direct Access Compared with
Referred Physical Therapy Episodes of Care: A Systematic Review. January 2014: p14-30.
Print.
Physical Therapist, Chiropractor, or Physician Whats the Difference? Spine Sport Physical
Therapy. 2014. Web.

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Richardson, Jason C. Can I Refer Myself to Physical Therapy Without Seeing a Physician First?
Physical Therapy & Physiotherapy. Physical Therapy Physiotherapy RSS. 2011. Web.
Selected Issues in Injury and Illness Prevention and the Team Physicians: A Consensus
Statement Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2016. Print.
Woolf, Anthony D., and Bruce Pfleger. Burden of Major Musculoskeletal Conditions. Bulletin
of the World Health Organization, Sep. 2003. Print.
World Health Organization. Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases at the Start of the Millennium.
Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2003. Print.