American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Kicks Off Social Media Campaign to Help You “Move Forward”

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has kicked-off a Web-based campaign as part of its “Move Forward” initiative to help individuals understand how a physical therapist can improve mobility and enhance quality of life. Educational resources include a new consumer Web site, Twitter profile, Facebook fan page and a YouTube channel to help consumers learn how to stay active

“Consumers, and baby boomers in particular, are looking to maintain active lifestyles as they age,” said Emilio Rouco, director of public relations for APTA. “’Move Forward’ uses social media to connect consumers with educational tools related to mobility and ultimately, to a physical therapist who can perform an evaluation, develop a plan of care and manage various conditions.”

Why “Move Forward”? A physical therapist can help individuals restore mobility, reduce pain, decrease risk factors and prevent injury. A physical therapist can also develop a fitness and wellness-oriented program tailored to an individual’s specific needs, thereby helping them to move forward.

To get started the APTA is asking people to do the following things on their path to move better and improve your quality of life, join “Move Forward”:

• Visit the new APTA consumer Web site;
• Submit questions to “Ask the Expert” on conditions that limit your movement or cause pain and receive answers from a physical therapist expert who will select several questions per month to answer;
• Use the “Find Your Condition” interactive search tool for information on how physical therapy can help a particular problem;
• Discover opportunities to improve your motion by taking the “Maximize Your Motion” quiz;
• Receive helpful mobility tips, videos and information on how to eliminate pain, in many cases without prescription medication or surgery;
• Connect directly with “Move Forward” on Twitter and Facebook to receive the latest mobility news and tips;
• Learn how a physical therapist can help address specific conditions, including foot health, low back pain during pregnancy and stroke recovery by watching videos on the “Move Forward” YouTube channel; and
• Tweet Chat with health conscious citizens and physical therapists to discuss the issue of foot health for runners during the #MOVEPT Tweetchat on May 4, 2010 from 8:00- 9:00 PM (EST)

More on the #MOVEPT Tweet Chat

APTA will host the #MOVEPT Tweet Chat about foot health on May 4, 2010, 8:00- 9:00 PM (EST). The tweetchat will host a conversation between physical therapists and consumers struggling with foot pain, namely runners. It will be moderated by physical therapist blogger Talli van Sunder, PT, DPT (@tallivansunder). APTA member Aaron Keil PT, OCS, who specializes in foot health, will be on hand to answer participants’ questions related to foot health via the association’s consumer Twitter account at twitter.com/moveforwardpt. Topics will include wellness resources for runners, injury prevention recommendations, orthotics tips, training regimens, and the benefits of physical therapy. To participate, you must first have a Twitter account. To submit your questions for inclusion in the chat, first follow @MoveForwardPT, if you are not already doing so, then ‘direct message’ your questions in 140 characters or less to @MoveForwardPT by May 3rd. Visit www.moveforwardpt.com for complete details and follow @MoveForwardPT and #MOVEPT for continued updates about the #MOVEPT Tweet Chat.