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Physical therapy keeps Airman fit to fight

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brok McCarthy
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  A person passing by the base's physical therapy office might not notice it exists, because much of the recovery equipment found in stateside clinics isn't there.

But Maj. Jesse Richardson, 379th Expeditionary Medical Group physical therapist, said this allows him to get out and see exactly what people are doing to injure themselves.

"Getting out there lets me see what they are doing to hurt themselves," the Whitehouse, Texas, native said. "I can focus on what's bothering them. For instance, if a person says their shoulder is bothering them when they are lifting weights, I can go to the gym with them and see what they are doing.

Staff Sgt. David Garcia, physical therapy NCO in charge who is deployed from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., said he and the major are beginning to go out and visit people who can't leave their workstations for long periods of time. This allows them to see more patients in the clinic than they would otherwise be able to.

"We can see four or five people at a time when we go to their work sections," said Sergeant Garcia, who is from Fredericksburg, Texas. "That saves time for them because they don't have to travel to us to be seen. It also opens up more slots for people to come here to be seen."

He noted the physical therapy office is usually able to take patients on a walk-in basis. This allows a problem to be diagnosed sooner than at a state-side clinic, because people must first be seen by a primary care provider.

The major said many of the cases he sees when he's both out and about and back in the clinic are ankles, knees, hips, back and neck. He has also seen many more hip issues here than he has at home stations.

One of the things the major does to help people, especially those who have back issues, is tell them to put a sticky note on their computer or wherever they work the most that says "string thing."

The idea of the note is to make people sit up straight and have proper back alignment. It makes them imagine they have a string running from the top of their head down their back which needs to remain straight by not hunching forward and keeping abdominal muscles tight.

He is also responsible for the runners' clinic that takes place twice a month at the community activity center. He said the clinic teaches people how to buy the proper shoes for running among other things. He also has orthotics available for people who need them.

Major Richardson said the best advice he can give is for people to slow down a little.

"A lot of folks get here and are ready to exercise, but they need to start slow and work into it," Major Anderson said. "Working your way up to full speed will go a long way in preventing an overuse injury so you won't have to come see me."

People wishing to be seen by the physical therapy clinic can call 437-4211, or visit the clinic in the main 379 EMDG clinic.