'Tip of the Spear' Physical Therapy during a 6-Month Deployment to the Persian Gulf: A Preliminary Report
| Autor: | Robert L. Koffman, Dennis Patrick Wood, Gregg Ziemke |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2001 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Battle Sports medicine business.industry Technician media_common.quotation_subject Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health General Medicine Naval Medicine Navy Military personnel Software deployment parasitic diseases Physical therapy medicine Spear business media_common |
| Zdroj: | Military Medicine. 166:505-509 |
| ISSN: | 1930-613X 0026-4075 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/milmed/166.6.505 |
| Popis: | When a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier battle group deploys overseas, the ship's medical department is responsible for more than 10,000 personnel and their numerous musculoskeletal injuries. This paper reviews the effectiveness of having a U.S. Navy physical therapist and physical therapy technician onboard the USS Carl Vinson during its most recent deployment to the Persian Gulf. Physical therapy had 3,373 patient visits during the ship's 1998-1999 Western Pacific deployment. Having physical therapy personnel onboard resulted in fewer patient visits to sick call for musculoskeletal problems and fewer evacuations compared with other similar carrier deployments. Providing physical therapy at the "tip of the spear" is an effective, beneficial, and cost-saving landmark improvement in providing quality medical care to the fleet. The lessons learned from this experience will assist in clarifying the role of physical therapy in future military support operations and sustained deployments. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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