Quote Originally Posted by jjose_01 View Post
i would say, physios are the "elbow" in the body of medicine, we help people do the things that matter to them...

while doctors are adding years to a man's life...we are here to add life to those years!

physiotherapy is a "front-of-the-house" profession, what we do leaves good or bad impression to the whole medical pofession...that makes me proud!

BUT, it is not a very good way to earn money, in my part of the globe, to leave inheritance to my children's childen! I hope to work at a 1st world country where physios are well compensated.
Although I feel medicine is important, I feel that if physiotherapy takes the necessary steps in the future it could outgrow and establish itself as the most important profession in the future.

Medicine may extend life, but it does not increase quality of life in and of itself.

EXERCISE DOES

Muscle has such an important impact on many key regulators of our physiology such as endocrine (hormone) function, carbohydrate and fat (lipid) metabolism as well as whole body protein metabolism. However, as adults, with every passing decade on this planet, we lose the capacity to maintain our muscle mass. This rate of decline with age is thought to be fairly consistent; approximately 1–2% per year for most adults! When adults reach 50 years of age, this response accelerates.1 This age-related steady but aggressive loss of muscle mass not only accelerates the aging process, it underlies a host of conditions that we usually associate with getting old.

Source: J Gerontol Biol Sci 56:B198-B208, 2001.

Exercise is the TRUE anti-aging 'medicine' of the future, and this is where physiotherapists are well established in education, anatomy, and exercise to take a major role.

Additionally, a blend of east-west medicine ie. Yoga, Acupuncture are being quickly integrated into many physiotherapeutic interventions as part of a 'holistic' package to non-invasive health care.

Please see this website Living To 100 Life Expectancy Calculator

Another important facet that Physiotherapists of the future must consider is the integration of nutrients that may act as synergists with exercise. This is becoming increasingly evident as several research studies have been undertaken in this area.

The Future is Physiotherapy, it is up to US to make it a profession worth reckoning with. Medicine is not the 'magic-bullet' to perfect health. Human nature, which is movement (exercise), breathing (we do it over 1500 times a day!), and the constant turnover of nutritional building blocks, optimized to our current lifestyles is the key to living optimally.

Will post articles soon to back all of this up with trends in research...