PTs: Do No Harm but What About Diet?

The Oath

As many PTs and healthcare providers know and affirm: first, do no harm. Taken from one of the most widely known Greek Medical Texts, this oath commits doctors and healthcare providers to offering their best in care. The more modern version of this oath expounds:

"I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow."

Many physical therapists (PTs) have taken a similar oath. In DPT schools around the country, many student PTs (SPT) swear an oath to provide their best care prior to going into internship or clinicals. Upon entering the profession and joining the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), we as PTs swear by the APTA code of ethics, which outlines: "Above all, do no harm." The APTA code of ethics also asks PTs to provide our best ability and judgement, among other requirements.

Nutrition and the Oath?

How does all of this fit into diet? PTs for years have done their best in providing the best for movement issues. From exercises, manual therapy, to special modalities like dry needling, doctors of physical therapy really are offering their best to their clients. But are they? Now with nutrition in the scope of physical therapy practice, offering your best ability and judgement includes nutrition in practice.  

Speaking to your clients about nutrition is as paramount as asking a client about their medication regime. For a long while we have known the saying, Exercise is Medicine; however, we also know the ancient saying of "let food be thy medicine." Food has the power to heal, inflame, and promote growth: all factors that impact physical therapy outcomes.

So is nutrition more important than exercise? Our team argues that both are important. Obviously some clients will require more extensive nutrition inquiries, education, or even a referral for more advanced care of a dietician. However, to get PTs to address nutrition in practice PTs must start seeing nutrition as a core part of "best care." To offer their patients and clients the best, according to our code and Oath, we need to be asking about the food our clients consume. 

Education is Needed

How do PTs learn more about nutrition? DPT programs have begun incorporating nutrition into mainy wellness sections of the curriculum. PTs that have already graduated can also take post-professional training programs, similar to our courses. In the end, no physical therapist should engage in nutrition care without the proper education. However, it should be said that entry-level PT, and best practices consistent with our Oath, should include some form of nutrition-specific care in nearly every patient case. It is time to step up your physical therapy game!

So, are you ready to learn more about nutrition to help your many patients and meet our professional standards? While many PTs take physical therapy courses from Medbridge, Cheapceus, or the APTA, many of these groups have their mainstay courses focused on traditional PT interventions and not nutrition. Our board-approved, online physical therapy continuing education courses are specific to nutrition and physical therapy. Our PT courses will help you learn general nutrition topics, how to assess a diet and screen for dietician referral, and how to counsel clients in subspecialty areas (e.g. pediatrics, women's health). Take all 3 of our courses and earn the Certified Nutritional Physical Therapy (CNPT) credential, which may give you credentialing to offer nutritional counseling in your State or area. Enroll today!

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 Keywords: physical therapy, DPT, SPT, PT school, nutrition, continuing education, learning, CEH, CEU

Disclaimer: The above article is written as an opinion piece and does not convey specific legal and/or practice act advice. 

 Image credit Photo by Raphael Nast on Unsplash