Here's what ChatGPT had to say when I asked it to describe "the future of physical therapy":

"The future of physical therapy looks promising, with several trends and advancements shaping the field:

1. Technology Integration: Physical therapy is increasingly integrating technology into practice. This includes wearable devices, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and telehealth platforms. These technologies enhance assessment, treatment, and patient engagement, allowing therapists to deliver more personalized care and track progress remotely.
2. Data-Driven Approaches: With the rise of wearable sensors and health tracking apps, physical therapists have access to more data about their patients' movement patterns, progress, and outcomes. Analyzing this data can inform treatment decisions and optimize rehabilitation protocols for better results.
3. Personalized Medicine: Advances in genomics and personalized medicine are likely to influence physical therapy. Genetic testing may help identify individuals at higher risk for certain injuries or conditions, allowing therapists to tailor prevention strategies and treatment plans accordingly.
4. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Collaboration between physical therapists and other healthcare professionals, such as physicians, occupational therapists, and sports scientists, will become increasingly important. This interdisciplinary approach ensures comprehensive care and better outcomes for patients.
5. Focus on Prevention and Wellness: There is a growing emphasis on preventive care and promoting overall wellness. Physical therapists are playing a crucial role in educating patients about injury prevention, ergonomic principles, and lifestyle modifications to maintain optimal physical health and function.
6. Telehealth Expansion: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth in physical therapy. Even after the pandemic, telehealth is expected to remain a significant component of care delivery, particularly for remote monitoring, follow-up appointments, and providing access to underserved populations.
7. Advancements in Rehabilitation Technology: Robotics, exoskeletons, and other advanced rehabilitation technologies are revolutionizing the way physical therapy is delivered. These tools assist patients in regaining mobility, strength, and function, particularly in cases of neurological disorders or severe injuries.
8. Continued Professional Development: As the field evolves, ongoing professional development will be essential for physical therapists to stay abreast of the latest research, technologies, and best practices. Lifelong learning and specialization in niche areas may become more common.

Overall, the future of physical therapy is characterized by innovation, collaboration, and a holistic approach to patient care, aiming to optimize function, mobility, and quality of life for individuals across the lifespan."

So how does the Geelong Physical Therapy Centre stack up against these points?

1: Technology Integration: we currently use force plates and dynomometry to help diagnose the contributing factors to pain and to inform our treatment plans. I don't know whether VR and AR will ever be a part of our practice but biometrics and wearables may very well come into some services that we are looking to launch very soon.
2: Data-Driven Approaches: as mentioned above, by quantifying and measuring strength symmetry and performance we can priorotise and target key issues that are likely behind your recurring pain or that are targets to tell us when you are back to full health.
3: Personalized Medicine: This has always been a focus for me. Before going to university I had a long history of shoulder instability and back pain. Part of what lead me to get qualified in the allied health field was my feeling that so much of the treatment I had recieved for my issues felt generic and standardised. Our assessment and treatment systems have been built on the idea of "starting from scratch" with everybody and doing our best to not miss small things or big things that may be easy to gloss over. We're not at the point of looking at genetic markers for orthopaedic issues just yet, but again...watch this space. Something amazing is on the horizon for GPTC.
4: Interdisciplinary Collaboration: we do our best to work closely with gyms and trainers, doctors and surgeons and other allied health professionals to maximise your care. This is an area that is obviously a two-way street and effective collaboration can be difficult to achieve. Building a hub where we have a variety of professionals within the one space is a big goal of ours; that way we can have amazing collaboration all under the one roof!
5: Focus on Prevention and Wellness: this is a no brainer for us. Everything about what we do and stand for leads to helping our patients get outcomes that leave them at a lower risk for future injury and maximising their health.
6: Telehealth Expansion: to be honest, this isn't a huge interest of ours. I'd rather stay smaller and local and maintain the interpersonal experience of primarily face to face care. There are definitely times when we utilise telehealth but I can't see this being a mainstay of how we practice.
7: Advancements in Rehab Technology: Being a small clinic we probably won't have the budget to be offering robotos and exoskeletons any time soon. And unless you're incredibly wealthy you probably won't be buying those things any time soon either. We'd prefer to build your body up so that you don't need a robotic exoskeleton. I can imagine that reliance upon things like that would actually be disempowering. We'd rather see you learn to trust your body and all the strength it has!
8: Continued Professional Development: This is already a requirement for maintaining our registration and insurance. However, we have big plans to significantly grow our inhouse PD schedule. But more than that, we want to contiunue to be known as the experts that other health professionals come to learn from!

I think it sounds like we stack up pretty well! If these are the standards of what it means to be at the forefront of physical therapy and what "world class" care looks like, then I'd say we are there and are setting the standard! 🙂

What do you think? Do we stack up?