Photo By Sgt. Tabitha Bartley | Capt. Anna Reves, G-3 ground production manager for Training Command, runs on the...... read more read more
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QUANTICO, Va. - Marines have always depended on the Navy for their medical needs. From the first day of boot camp Marines are taught they can depend on their “brothers in blue” to help with any physical ailment they might have. Physical therapy is one of the many ways the Navy helps to keep Marines healthy.
The Officer Candidates School branch clinic is one of three clinics aboard base that offers physical therapy to service members.
“The best part of the job is getting to talk to people,” said Angelique Ruiz, a physical therapist at the OCS branch clinic. “It’s a very personal job [and] all day I’m communicating with people, candidates to active duty enlisted to officers to other medical staff.”
The physical therapist and physical therapist technicians work hand-in-hand many times seeing each other’s patients.
“Good communication is how people get taken care of the best,” said Ruiz. “Not only with the patient, but also with the patients of other providers so they are getting the care they need.”
Majority of the injuries the therapist treat are orthopedic from ankle sprains, injuries after surgery, post operative patients, shoulder injuries and lower back injuries.
“The type of injuries we see are normal because of what it takes to be a Marine,” said Ruiz. “Marines have a number of physically demanding and physically taxing exercises such as the physical fitness test, combat fitness test and caring heavy packs.”
The physical therapist and physical therapist technicians treat these injuries with stabilization, stretching, strengthen activities and functional training.
“They understand my job as a Marine,” said Capt. Anna Reves, G-3 ground production manager for Training Command. “I did physical therapy out in town for a few weeks and they are just geared towards getting office works back to work opposed to here the therapists get you all the way to being fully athletic again.”
“We watch them while they are training,” said Ruiz. “We see how they train and we have the opportunity every day to see Marines throughout the day.
“We understand what Marines have been doing while deployed and what their responsibilities are every day even when you’re not deployed, so we can try and mimic those activities while we take you through the rehab program.”
The success of a physical therapy regimen depends on the work of both the therapist and the patient and Ruiz thinks Marines are particularly well suited to be healing teammates.
“The good thing about Marines is that they want to get better and that’s one of the biggest keys to physical therapy,” said Ruiz. “Marines are motivated to get better. They have goals, they want to deploy, they want to pick up, and they want to go to their schools so they do the exercises that they should be doing.”
“The hardest part is when you have someone who cannot get over a hurdle,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Anthony Roman, a physical therapy technician at the OCS branch clinic. “Most of the time it’s because their body is holding them back not from lack of the patient trying.
“For me the best part of the job is the satisfactions of seeing someone go from a complete zero of a post-operation to getting back to doing their job, working with their Marines and being physically able to deploy,” said Roman.”
“It’s been a great experience here,” said Reves. “They are always patient, and paying attention and dedicated. It’s always a great atmosphere in [therapy. It’s an easy-going atmosphere,] which is nice when you have to come in and deal with something like an injury that you aren’t real excited about.”
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2012 12:05 |
| Story ID: | 89498 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 660 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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