At Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, a specialized team of Sailors and civilians has one of the most critical missions: helping injured Sailors and Marines return to duty.
The Physical Therapy team aboard Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command spearheads this effort by treating the service member’s injury and educating them how to continue their rehabilitation and manage pain throughout their career.
“Musculoskeletal injuries are the most common reason service members seek medical care,” said Navy Lt. Stefen Petry, PT, DPT, CSCS, TSAC-F. “Physical Therapy, in many instances, is the first line of care for our Sailors and Marines and can be helpful at getting our service members back in the fight.”
Physical Therapy, says Petry, provides rehabilitation services that optimize a Sailor or Marine’s performance, restore their ability to conduct their duties in their unit and improve their quality of life in daily living and recreation.
Located on the third floor of NMRTC Cherry Point, the PT clinic is one of the busiest departments in the facility. The area is equal parts medical treatment facility and weightlifting gym where resistance and cardio machines share space with mobility and stretching areas.
Patients and staff members move throughout the space utilizing equipment and conducting exercises designed to address the service member’s injury and teach them how to independently manage their pain. Sailors and Marines undergoing care have direct access to providers and technicians and can also participate in group classes and treatments for knee and low back pain.
“Sailors and Marines work in very high-tempo and dynamic environments, and one of the most common injuries in environments such as these are musculoskeletal injuries,” said Hospital Corpsman First Class Matthew Brown, a Physical Therapy Technician. “These injuries have the potential to directly impact the quality of life of our Warfighters as well as significantly and detrimentally affect their readiness.”
“Physical Therapy allows us to address these injuries quickly and efficiently by preserving the readiness of our force and getting our Sailors and Marines back on their feet, both literally and figuratively,” said Brown, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
For Petry, a Charlotte, North Carlina native, serving as a Physical Therapist in the U.S. Navy is also a personal calling.
“As a pediatric PT patient myself, I developed a strong interest in rehabilitation and sports medicine that led me to pursue becoming a physical therapist,” said Petry. “My family is heavily represented with veterans from all branches and I have always wanted to give back to the military community.”