Career Snapshot: PT for Performing Arts | Healthcare News ...

By day, Andrea Avruskin PT, DPT, ATC, LAT, CKTP, works at an outpatient physical therapy clinic in Las Vegas where she treats a wide variety of injuries and ailments.

Yet at night, Avruskin takes her physical therapy skills to the Las Vegas strip where she works backstage at popular touring shows including the Lion King and Cirque du Soleil, providing physical therapy to performers who sustain an injury during the course of the show. It?s a job that she?s been doing since 1998, and one that she enjoys immensely.

Avruskin (left) says performing arts and physical therapy go hand in hand. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) even has a Performing Arts Special Interest Group for those interested in pursuing a career in performing physical arts therapy. Whether you live in New York near Broadway, are involved in the Los Angeles theatre scene, or would like to be considered for touring productions that are appearing near your hometown, Avruskin says there are many opportunities for physical therapists to treat stage performers. She took time out from her busy schedule to answer our questions:

How did you get started in physical therapy?

While I was a student at Cornell University, I broke my ankle and was sent to the student health center. I was very impressed by the care that I received from the physical therapist. I already knew that I wanted to go into medicine, but decided to specialize in physical therapy. After getting my bachelor?s degree in psychology from Cornell, I went on to earn a master?s degree in biokineisology and physical therapy from the University of Southern California. I also became a certified athletic trainer while in California, before pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.

What kinds of performer injuries do you treat?

I treat a variety of injuries ? performers who have had shoulder surgeries, lumbar disc problems, sprains, neck and spinal pain. Our backstage mission is to keep people in the show. If they have broken a bone and need to go to the hospital, then I start working with them as soon as possible, often as soon as the next day. Performers in touring shows are lucky if they have even 20 days off a year, so I work with them to stay in shape and injury free. In addition to treating injuries, I also do a lot of preventative work with the performers.

What advice do you have for PTs who would like to work in the performing arts field treating entertainers?

Offer to volunteer at a local theatre production or athletic event and learn how to evaluate and assess injuries right after they happen. I volunteered at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and that fueled my interest in becoming an athletic trainer. The more experience and education you get will help make you more marketable as a physical therapist.

What do you know now that you wish you had known about physical therapy years ago?

I wish I had known the McKenzie Method for back and neck pain because I use it so frequently in both of my jobs. The long-term goal of the McKenzie Method is to teach patients who suffer from neck or back pain how to treat themselves and manage their own pain using exercises and other strategies. Other goals include reducing pain quickly ? I?ve seen performing artists who tweak their back and then return to work the next day pain-free after using the McKenzie approach on patients.

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? Health Callings, Dice Holdings Inc., 2013

Linda Childers is an award-winning freelance journalist who contributes health articles and celebrity profiles to a number of national magazines and websites. She lives in California with her husband, son, and two dogs.

Source: http://career-news.healthcallings.com/2013/03/26/career-snapshot-pt-for-performing-arts/

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