Health Care Team (HCT)

Physical Therapists are experts in movement and function of the body.

Physical Therapists provide services that help restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities associated with injury or disease.

Physical Therapists practice in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, private physical therapy offices, home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation centers, school systems, sports medicine facilities, industrial settings, academic settings (education and research), wellness facilities, hospice care, pediatric centers, emergency care, and government agencies.

Physical Therapists must graduate from an accredited post baccalaureate professional physical therapist program to be eligible to sit for the national licensure examination. Curricular content includes foundational, behavioral, and clinical sciences; patient/client management, including medical screening and diagnosis; evidence-based practice; professionalism and ethics; radiology/imaging; pharmacology; physical therapy interventions; business and practice management; lifespan-based issues; communication and interpersonal skills; and supervised and mentored clinical practice.

Physical Therapists are licensed to practice autonomously, so direct supervision by another health professional is not required. Physical Therapists may be responsible for the behavior, conduct, and performance of their colleagues and engage in peer review and assessment as a part of their responsibilities. Physical Therapists may be supervised administratively or with respect to their business management depending upon their employer’s organizational structure.

A Physical Therapist’s responsibilities include examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, and the development, implementation, or adjustment of a plan of care for patients and clients across the lifespan. Patient examinations in physical therapy include, but are not limited to, testing of muscle function, strength, joint flexibility, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, respiration, skin integrity, motor function, quality of life, and activities of daily living. Physical Therapists also determine a patient’s ability to reintegrate into the workforce, community, or school after illness or injury.

Once an examination and evaluation is complete and a diagnosis has been determined, the Physical Therapist designs a customized plan of care that includes short- and long-term functional goals and interventions. These interventions may include, but are not limited to:

• therapeutic exercise
• functional training in self-care
• home management
• work, community, and leisure integration and reintegration
• manual therapy/mobilization techniques

Interventions will often include the use of assistive and adaptive devices, such as crutches, wheelchairs, orthotics, and prosthetics. These interventions are frequently performed for the following conditions:

• musculoskeletal management of orthopedic injuries
• post-surgical rehabilitation and pain syndromes
• neurological intervention to assist with gait, transfers, fall prevention, and recovery
• balance and vestibular/dizziness dysfunctions
• integumentary management of wounds using modalities such as selective sharp debridement, dressings, and positioning
• cardiopulmonary intervention to assist with aerobic/cardiac conditioning, ventilation, and respiration

An important component of a Physical Therapist’s patient management involves teaching the patient appropriate ways to move or perform particular tasks to prevent further injury and to promote health and wellness.

All states require Physical Therapists to have graduated from an accredited physical therapist professional education program and to pass a national licensure examination. The practice of physical therapy is governed by state licensure laws, so there may be additional fees and requirements beyond the national licensure examination to practice in a specific state or jurisdiction.

The American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists oversees and manages all areas associated with the eight areas of board specialty certification for Physical Therapists: cardiovascular and pulmonary, clinical electrophysiologic, geriatrics, neurology, orthopaedics, pediatrics, sports, and women’s health. Additional areas of focused clinical practice for Physical Therapists where board certification is not currently offered include acute care, aquatic physical therapy, education (academic and clinical teaching), hand rehabilitation, health policy and administration, home health, oncology, research, private practice, and veterans affairs.

Physical Therapists provide care within a broad spectrum of practice settings to patients across the lifespan experiencing a wide variety of conditions. Physical Therapists also assist patients in the prevention of future conditions and with programs for improving the overall health and wellness of the individual and society. Patients struggling with pain, movement, and functional limitations, especially due to injury or disease, are particularly likely to benefit from physical therapy.

A patient may seek physical therapy services directly from a Physical Therapist without a physician’s referral. Following an initial examination, the Physical Therapist may refer the patient or consult with another health professional, depending upon the results of the initial screening and examination.

The Physical Therapist may become involved in the care of a patient as a primary care provider as a result of pain, injury, functional limitation, chronic health condition, or to address a health issue or prevent future injury. A patient may also be referred to physical therapy from another health professional, such as a family physician, geriatrician, pediatrician, oncologist, dentist, gynecologist, or internist, as a result of a medical diagnosis that warrants follow up with physical therapy.