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Real World, Real Work

If you've ever suffered from back or neck pain, you're not alone. A National Institutes of Health study reports that lower back pain alone costs Americans about $50 billion each year. It's also the most common reason that people miss work. Add the injuries and illnesses that affect other muscles, joints, or regions, and you're talking about a lot of people in pain.

Sometimes the causes of these aches are obvious-sports injuries, accidents, and other traumas and strains. Sometimes they're not. Either way, the symptoms can prevent people from getting around, disrupt their sleep, and otherwise stop them from enjoying a normal, productive life.

Back and neck pain are just two of the many illnesses that physical therapists can help relieve. At the University of Pittsburgh, students majoring in physical therapy start lab work their first year. They develop the skills they need to test for the causes of common musculoskeletal conditions, and then to treat them safely and effectively. Lab exercises and hands-on demonstrations constitute half of the instruction in many classes.

The treatments that students learn help restore a full range of motion to sufferers of both chronic and acute pain-and restore their quality of life. Here, researcher Sara Piva demonstrates manual therapy techniques to second-year students.