What is Physical Therapy?
Physical therapists, also known as PTs, are health care professionals who evaluate and treat people with health problems resulting from injury or disease. PTs assess joint motion, muscle strength and endurance, balance and coordination, neurological function, function of the heart and lungs, and performance of activities required in daily living, among other responsibilities. PTs also focus on patient education, ergonomics (body mechanics), fitness and wellness. More than 90,000 physical therapists practice in the U.S. today, treating nearly 1 million people every day.
(Back To Top) Physical Therapy is a licensed health care profession that specializes in the treatment of musculoskeletal as well as neurological conditions. Treatment includes therapeutic exercise, manual therapy/massage, as well as the use of modalities (heat, cold, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, etc.). The treatment is focused towards returning the patient to their prior level of function.
It consists of scientific physical procedures used in the treatment of patients with a disability, disease, or injury, to achieve and maintain functional rehabilitation and to prevent malfunction or deformity. Treatments are designed to minimize residual physical disability, and to contribute to the patients comfort and well-being. Physical therapy is prescribed for patients with varied orthopedic, neurological, vascular, and respiratory conditions, which may be the result of congenital malfunction, disability acquired through disease or trauma, or inherited dysfunction.
