Movement as Medicine
Posted on October 10, 2024 by CAHP
A passion for health and wellness brought Louise Stewart to the University of South Alabama where she is studying to become a physical therapist.
Stewart moved to Mobile in 2022 to begin the Doctor of Physical Therapy program after completing a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in psychology. She grew up with several registered dietitians in her family, so she has always believed in the importance of a person’s physical well-being.
As a fan of fitness, she chose to major in exercise science her freshman year of college
but was initially unsure what she could do with the degree. Her experiences in fitness
classes while in high school and college influenced her decision to choose a physical
therapy track.
Many students discover their interest in physical therapy after experiencing a sports injury and going through therapy. Stewart’s interest was different. She was more fascinated by the impact movement can have on a person’s physical and mental health.
“It was the movement as medicine side of it. I think that’s the coolest idea that you can literally prescribe someone movement, and it heals so many things,” Stewart said. “It can heal your body. It can heal your injuries.”
She is passionate about healing the body as a whole, and her minor in psychology helped her better understand the impact exercise can also have on a person’s mental health. Her interest in the psychology behind physical therapy grew after taking neuroscience courses with Dr. Tara Andrews, assistant professor of physical therapy, and Dr. Blair Saale, assistant professor of physical therapy.
When Stewart found herself facing a battle with self-doubt about her skills, also known as imposter syndrome, Saale was there to offer words of encouragement and an opportunity for Stewart to strengthen her skills by helping treat a patient alongside Victory Health Partners.
“I treated this patient for a few months in the spring, and that was the best experience of all of PT school,” Stewart said. “It upped my confidence so much, and I just felt like for the first time, I can do it.”
The support of her classmates has also been helpful along the way. When Stewart first moved to Mobile, it was an adjustment going from large undergraduate classes to a cohort of 40 students. Over time, she and her classmates became more comfortable leaning on each other for help when classes were tougher or when they just needed to joke around.
“We were with each other every single day. Every single day going through the same thing,” Stewart shared. “So, they truly became family.”
She quickly found her niche as the historian for the Class of 2025. She has been the go-to person for coverage of the many activities she and her classmates have participated in including intramural sports, local fundraisers, community events and interprofessional activities.
“I took all the pictures and ran the Instagram, and I think that was my favorite part,” Stewart said, “Anything that we were doing, whether it was a volunteer event or an intramural thing, I was there to take pictures.”
Stewart and her classmates volunteered two years in a row with Project Homeless Connect,
a one-day event that connects those experiencing homelessness with valuable services,
free of charge.
The first year, they had the opportunity to guide visitors around the event and learn more about them. They left so inspired that they collected more than 1,100 pairs of shoes for the following year’s event and set up their own healthcare booth where individuals could walk in for foot assessments and shoe fittings.
"If you just give people the time of day and talk to them, they have intriguing stories and the coolest backgrounds," Stewart shared. "It was really fun getting to connect with them."
Growing up in Selma, Alabama, instilled in Stewart an appreciation for rural healthcare. Once while shadowing a physical therapist in Selma, the team treated an infant, a patient with a stroke, athletes with sports injuries and patients receiving therapy after surgery all in one day.
“I want to see a little bit of everything, and with a small town, patients don’t have that much access to a lot of specialties,” Stewart said. “I think that’s the coolest thing because you can help with a lot of different things, and your brain is always working.”
Access to physical therapy in small towns is really important to Stewart. After graduation in May, she hopes to find a community where she can provide compassionate care to residents in need of physical therapy.