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This section covers several areas, including cancer, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatric disorders. As a physical therapist (PT), these various topics are not within the scope of physical therapy in terms of diagnosis, but the PT must be aware of the manifestations that indicate dysfunction and medical referral. Also, the PT must understand the impact of these conditions during exercise. Finally, understanding medication physiology, pathology, and side effects is a prerequisite to determining the best treatment interventions, progressions, and care for these abnormalities.
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STUDY PEARL
The PT must have a working knowledge of the function, causes, signs, and symptoms of systemic involvement so that prompt action can be taken on behalf of the patient.
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As a patient with a primary diagnosis of systemic involvement will not typically be referred to physical therapy, the PT’s initial examination includes taking the history, conducting a standardized system review, and performing selected tests and measures to identify existing movement-related disorders. During this examination, the PT may receive information that points to systemic involvement that may or may not warrant referral for additional medical evaluation. In most instances, the medical team will already be aware of such systemic involvement, but, on occasion, the patient may have one of these conditions.
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Oncology is the branch of medicine that deals with tumors, including the study of their development, diagnosis, ...