How Advances in Technology Have and Continue to Cause Changes in Physical Therapy Practices

Physical therapy is the treatment or management of physical disability, malfunction, or pain by exercise, massage, hydrotherapy, etc. without the use of medicines, surgeries, or radiation. Throughout the years the practice of physical therapy has grown and changed substantially with advances in knowledge and technology

Physical therapy practices have grown substantially since its creation in 1881:

                Physical therapy practices began during the late 1800’s following the first polio epidemic which left 50 children physically disabled. The practice was originally referred to as “manual muscle testing” by its creator, Wilhelmie Wright. At this point in time physical therapy practice was used solely as a method for evaluating the function of muscles. Over the next 60 years the practice grew substantially and in 1946 the American Physical Therapy Association was born.  Treatment up to this point consisted mostly of exercise, massage, and traction and was only practiced in a hospital setting. In the 1950’s therapists began to move out of the hospitals and into a variety of settings such as outpatient clinics, schools, universities, and rehabilitation centers. The 1980’s brought an explosion of technology which led to serious technical changes in the practice.

An explosion of technological advances changes the way physical therapists practice rehabilitation:

New technologies have caused extreme transformations in the way therapists practice and treat patients. Examples of these new technologies include:

Isokinetic Dynamometer

• Ultrasounds- uses sound waves to generate heat in a certain area of the body
• Electric stimulators- improves range of joint movement, improves strength, local blood flow and motor control
• Iontophoresis- a small electric charge that helps to deliver medicine or chemicals through the skin
• Cold laser- strengthens and heals damaged cells; provides relief for arthritis, pain, inflammation, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other physical problems
• Isokinetics- the use of objects to challenge muscles through resistance and increase strength
• Video analysis software- allows therapists to view changes in movement habits over time

Changes in technology for normal health care practices can also have an effect on physical therapists. One recent advance enhances the survival of premature infants. With this advancement physical therapists must now adjust their practices to accommodate a younger patient as many of those infants will need help in order to reduce motor development delays. Other areas where physical therapy practices are growing and utilizing new technologies are cancer rehabilitation, women’s health, and wound care. 

New advances in technology will not eliminate the need for trained physical therapy professionals:

                A growing concern for many aspiring physical therapists is whether or not their training will become irrelevant in the near future with the growth of newer and more sophisticated technologies. Robotics poses a serious concern for many physicians and therapists who believe that one day these machines may be able to replace them as health care providers. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has designed and launched one the first robotic machines used to help machines rehabilitate themselves after a stroke. Known as “Interactive Motion robots” these machines are designed to work with the patients arm or leg to slowly rebuild lost brain connections. Not only does this machine assist the patients with regular movements but it can adjust to the patient’s skill level based on their stage of recovery, an important component most other computers and machines could not perform until now. Trials have also shown that the Interactive Motion robot is two times more effective than normal physical therapy practices at helping a patient regain motor control, a terrifying statistics for many therapists.

Interactive Motion Robot

                Despite these advances in technology non-experts and experts continue to assure providers that robots will never fully take the place of trained professionals. In the audio clip located at the end of this post a non-expert provides her opinion on the situation. 

                Experts also agree that advances in technology will not eliminate the need for physical therapists and some even believe they will be needed even more. The advances will enable patients to spend less time in hospitals and recover faster. Total hip and knee surgeries are relatively new procedures and are now available more readily to patients. While the surgeries can provide a better quality of life for its patients in the long run, most patients need to undergo a serious amount of rehabilitation and recovery in order to regain full control of the body segment.  Physical therapy also remains of the few positions that require effective communication, critical thinking, and physical touch of patients, skills a robot or computer cannot perform.

 

Technological advances are rapidly changing the way health care providers, specifically physical therapists, are treating their patients. Despite these advances, computers will never eliminate the need for these trained professionals. 

listen to ‘PT question- Samantha’ on Audioboo

A Fight for the Top: The Battle between Google+ and Facebook on the Social Networking World Stage

Google caused quite a stir in the social media scene last year when they introduced Google+ (also written as Google Plus or G+) to the world. The search tycoon is the most visited website on the planet, followed closely behind by Facebook, the world’s largest social media site. So why has the new networking site not taken off quite as planned?

Google+ introduced many new features not available on Facebook:

                In order to gain followers, Google had to introduce new and exciting features that would draw users away from other social networking giants and into their new site. Several special elements were incorporated into Google+:

1.       Hangouts- a group video chat feature; Facebook currently only offers a one-on-one video chat feature

2.       Sparks- a place where members can customize their interests so specific news headlines and articles will appear on their page; Facebook now allows users to “subscribe” to different news destinations such as “Yahoo” or “Huffington Post”

3.       Circles- the most well-known feature of Google+ allows users to sort their friends into different groups but keeps the name of the groups and other members of the circle hidden; Facebook users also have the option to create “groups” but privacy in those groups is much more limited as all members can see the group’s name and who else is placed within that group

4.       Stranger Danger- while some users may find it appealing, many are not okay with Google+’s feature of being able to chat and see updates from friends who are not in your circles or who you have not followed; Facebook allows its users to severely limit what strangers are able to see on an individual’s page

Over a year later, G+ struggles to remain an active contender in the social networking battle:

Google Plus created a mass initial hype that has severely deteriorated in the last 12 months. In just 3 months, Google+ managed to accumulate over 25 million users so why were they unable to surpass MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn? Exclusivity, as seen with the creation of Facebook, makes any social networking site appealing to users. During its initial launch, Google Plus was available on an invite-only basis. When the site was eventually opened to all users social networkers jumped at the opportunity to join the site that had been on lock-down for such a long duration of time. Now, the initial excitement has subsided and all the other major social networks have updated their sites to compete with Google Plus’s special features.

Google Plus may not be a complete failure it just fails to meet all of its user’s needs:

                As a Google Plus account holder, it is easy to understand why the site has had a hard time maintaining current and attracting new users.

• ·         No one likes change- If you ever want to see people go bananas over a simple change, just wait for Facebook to make their next profile update. When the social networking giant updated to Timeline this past year the backlash was outrageous. Now imagine how the world will react if they have to adjust to an entirely new site… The outcome doesn’t look promising.
• ·         Nothing to do- Any social networking user knows how easy it is to get caught up for hours looking at updates from friends, socializing or playing a never-ending game of Farmville. Google+ lacks “stuff” to do. They don’t provide users with games or other activities that will keep users on their site for more than a five minute check-in
• ·         Lack of sharing- The idea behind a social networking site is that users are supposed to share their lives with other social networkers. Instead of promoting sharing, Google Plus actually promotes limiting what you share based on who you place in which “circle.”

Statistics show that Google still has a long way to go if they intend to remain a fighting contender in the social network arena:

Currently, G+ sits at the number 6 spot for most popular social networking sites, Facebook is listed as number one. On October 4^th, Facebook had officially reached 1 billion monthly users. As of last month, Google Plus had 400 million registered members and only about a quarter of them actually used their services on a monthly basis. 

Thursday Night, The Biggest Night for Broadcast Television Weighs In On Ratings and Share

Thursday nights are famous for being the biggest night out of the week for broadcast television. Shows fight for spots to air during these prime television viewing hours. Shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and The Office have held these prime-time spots for multiple seasons in a row and continue to rake in top rating and sharing numbers. How do we know this night is the best night for television? Nielsen ratings are measurements of television audience size and composition taken at various times to determine how many and the type of viewers that are tuning in to watch a television program.

Ratings vs. Sharing

                Ratings are determined by the number of households tuned into a program out of the number of total television households. Share is determined by counting the number of households watching a program out of the number of households watching television during a given time. Both numbers are listed as percentages. It is estimated that there are close to 116 million television households in the U.S. meaning that a single rating percentile is equal to 1,160,000 homes watching a show.

Grey’s Anatomy Fights to Keep Top Ratings on Thursday Nights:

                Now on its tenth season, Grey's Anatomy continues to score high in ratings on Thursday nights. This past week the show’s ratings stood at about 4.3 percent and sharing was listed at about 12 percent meaning that 4.3 percent of the households with television access were watching the show on Thursday night and 12 percent of the households watching television during that hour were watching the show.  Based on data collection, that 4.3 percent corresponds to about 5,000,000 television households watching the show. Competition for the show came from CBS’s “Person of Interest,” FOX’s “Glee,” NBC’s hit comedy “The Office,” and the CW’s “The Next.”  By adding up the share percentages we can see that 35% of households watching television during the hour that Grey’s Anatomy aired were watching one of these major broadcast networks.

Television Has Gone Mobile:

                Shortened attention spans have paved the way for the use of cellular devices while watching television. Many viewers are using their mobile device to keep themselves occupied during commercial breaks or lulls in action during their programs. Many other cell phone owners have started using their phones to interact with other viewers watching the same program or to vote for contestants who are competing in a televised program. As mobile phones become more and more sophisticated users may even begin to watch shows straight from their phones. 

Digital Rights Management: What it is, How it Works, and Its Effect on Consumers

What is DRM?

Digital rights management, also known as DRM, is a type of technology that is used to prevent piracy of music, videos, video games or any other form of media that can be passed around and shared through the internet. Copyright laws are set in place to discourage the act of piracy and sharing but it is not practical to arrest every person who has ever downloaded or shared a single file. Instead, DRM helps to prevent the initial sharing. Some examples of DRM include blocking the forwarding of important emails, including software on DVDs that limits the number of copies that can be made, or encrypting a CD with files that prevent sharing.  

How Does DRM Work?

                DRM is a form of prevention. There are many types of DRM and each one works in its own way to keep people from sharing media such as music and videos. Microsoft has included one form of DRM in their products that requires the user/purchaser to register the product within an allotted period of time. If the product is not registered it will cease to run properly. The product may also only be registered on a certain number of devices which also prevents users from sharing.

                Biodegradable discs are a more modern version of DRM. As an alternative to DVD rentals some companies have created a new way to watch movies. A single purchase allows you to buy the DVD but once the packaging is open, the user has only about 3 days to watch the film before the DVD begins to decompose and becomes un-viewable.

How DRM is affecting consumers:

                As a media consumer, DRM means deciding between spending more money or spending time finding accessible downloads and files. There are many sites that offer the option of copying and pasting a Youtube link into a site and then the site returns just the audio file to you which can then be downloaded. While this does give you access to many files, it is time consuming and the quality of the file is not always great. The other option is to spend the money and actually purchased the album or DVD. As a college student with little money, this is the least appealing option.  With the addition of sites such as Spotify and Hulu that allow you to watch full length movies and listen to music for free, the change of a consumer spending money on those same pieces of media has greatly decreased.

5,4,3,2,1… NEXT! Shortened Attention Spans In the Age of Social Media

         Twitter, Facebook, commercials, and even the ever popular kid’s show Spongebob Squarepants have come under fire as causes for the decreasing length of attention spans in our population. Our generation experienced a drastic change in the way we access information with the birth of high-speed internet and overly commercialized television. During my investigation of this issue I found very few articles about how to reverse these effects. Instead, almost every article made suggestions as to how a publisher can make their website or blog more adaptive to this lack of attention. Some of the suggestions made by these authors included: (http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/10526-optimizing-your-website-for-short-attention-spans-six-tips)

·         Keeping all major thoughts to under 140 characters, the same length as a tweet

·         Vary the type of media posted- pictures, videos, text

·         Split up large amounts of information

·         Use bullet points to make skimming easy

We now live in a world of instant gratification. If a webpage takes too long to load, we move on to the next one. If a commercial takes too long to get to the point, we change the channel. If a tweet goes longer than 140 characters and you have to click a link to read the rest, forget about it! One study found that over 30% of viewers will abandon a slow site between one and five seconds (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2012/mar/19/attention-span-internet-consumer). Another study shows that our attention span has decreased from 12 minutes to 5 minutes in the last 10 years. So what happens when you take away all the sources of social media for 24 hours? Subjects were said to feel “phantom vibrations” and reached for a phone that wasn’t there and even became anxious and fidgety during the time period.

   

Not all blame for shortened attention span should fall on these social media sources.  Attention deficit disorder is common among children due to a delay in brain development. With the increasing amount of television, internet, and video games being consumed it can sometimes be hard to tell where to place the blame. ADD effects mostly younger children so studies investigating the causes of this lack of focus normally feature older children and younger adults since old age can also be a factor when measuring attention.

The University of Maryland campus is the perfect place to conduct a study measuring the effects of social media on attention. Our generation has been one of the most strongly affected by the growth of the internet, and more specifically, Twitter and Facebook. In order to measure the effect of the media on focus, I would plan a study that measures the time it takes for a subject to switch focus from a piece of print media and compare that time to how long it takes for them to lose focus when reading an online article. Based on the following graph, more than half of students will abandon whatever they are reading in 80 seconds or less.

 (http://vator.tv/news/2010-10-14-digital-media-shrinking-your-attention-span)

With sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr popping up all over the internet, it’s impossible to know just what the future holds for social media outlets. By the time our kids are looking up news articles and chatting with friends, headlines will be no more than five words long and attention spans will last no more than a few seconds. 

In case you want to shorten your attention span just a little bit more...

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