A physical therapist is a licensed healthcare professional who helps patients with injuries and chronic health conditions regain their range of motion, manage their pain and improve their quality of life.
For example, if you need help:
- managing or eliminating lower back pain
- recovering from a joint replacement surgery
- rehabilitation from any surgery
- help with sports injuries
- improve balance deficits
among so many other physical dysfunctions, you would go to a physical therapist.

There you would have an initial evaluation, which is when you and your therapist would discuss what's bothering you, how it happened, etc. followed by a biomechanical evaluation to assess where your movements are being restricted or injured and causing you uncomfortable symptoms.

Then a discussion would be had regarding treatment recommendations to eliminate/reduce the symptoms and restore your function. Those treatments could include a wide variety of combinations of interventions as appropriate & necessary within our state practice act, skill set and your particular needs such as manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, neuromuscular re-education, manual or mechanical traction, etc.
Through continuing education additional certifications are earned to deliver advanced treatment options for patients such as dry needling, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, Parkinson's movement therapy, etc.