Physical therapy is a dynamic health care specialty which involves evaluating, diagnosing, and treating individuals with disorders of the musculoskeletal system and a variety of medical disorders. Physical therapy is an evidence based practice with its ultimate goal for individuals to regain maximum functional independence.

Physical therapy is provided by physical therapists, who are licensed health care professionals. According to the Guide of Physical Therapist Practice, physical therapist: “Diagnose and manage movement dysfunction and enhance physical and functional abilities. “Restore, maintain, and promote not only optimal physical function but optimal wellness and fitness and optimal quality of life as it relates to movement and health. “Prevent the onset, symptoms, and progression of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities that may result from diseases, disorders, conditions, or injuries. (1)

Physical therapists take on a leadership role in rehabilitation, prevention of injury, health maintenance, programs that promote health, wellness, and fitness, and in professional and community organizations. Physical therapists will provide a thorough examination taking the patient’s medical history, conducting systems review, and performing tests and measures to identify potential and existing problems. In order to establish a diagnoses, prognoses, and plans of care, physical therapists perform evaluations and review the examination data, to determine if the problems to be addressed are within the scope of physical therapy practice. Based on the information collected, physical therapists will then provide the patient with a variety of interventions in order for individuals to return to their prior level of independence and achieve optimal function. (2)

1. Inverarity, Laura, What is Physical Therapy?, About.com, 2007.

2. American Physical Therapy Association, Guide to Physical Therapist Practice 2nd Edition, Alexandria VA, 2003.

You must first verify that the therapist you will be seeing is in fact a physical therapist. Sounds silly, right? The State of Florida actually allows some disciplines to claim that they do “therapy” “rehabilitation” or even “physical therapy” even though the services are not performed by a licensed physical therapist. The State DOES NOT allow someone to state that they are a “physical therapist” unless they are in fact a licensed physical therapist.

You can also check the status of the license of your physical therapist by going to http://ww2.doh.state.fl.us/IRM00PRAES/PRASLIST.ASP. This will allow you to see if the therapist’s license is current, and also if there are any public complaints on record with the Florida Department of Health.

It is also a good idea to request the biography of the physical therapist that will be treating you to verify that he or she will be able to meet your expectations. At PT Professionals, we place very high educational standards on our full time physical therapists. All of our physical therapists are encouraged to pursue clinical specialization in respective areas. This helps to ensure clinical competency and motivates our therapists to continue their professional education.

Lastly, your therapist should show some degree of compassion. Your therapist should be interested in your condition and dedicated to helping you meet your established goals. Your therapist should also be receptive to your comments and attentive to your individual needs. .

Over the past several years, our national organization, also known as the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), has begun changing the curriculum requirements for the Universities with accredited physical therapy programs and by 2015 all post-baccalaureate physical therapy programs will be at a doctoral level. APTA’s 2020 vision statement is as follows:

“By 2020, physical therapy will be provided by physical therapists who are doctors of physical therapy, recognized by consumers and other health care professionals as the practitioners of choice to whom consumers have direct access for the diagnosis of, interventions for, and prevention of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities related to movement, function, and health.”

The purpose of this requirement for entry level physical therapists is to allow our patients to view us an autonomous health care provider. As part of a doctorate program, there is emphasis on the concept of differential diagnosis and to refer to peers and medical specialists to meet the needs of our patients when it is in their best interest and out of our scope of practice

Manual therapy is a hands-on form of physical therapy to improve the mobility in the injured area by providing decreased pain and improved overall functioning for the patient. Certifications in manual therapy are widespread and combine different schools of thought allowing physical therapists to determine which curriculum supports their own practicing beliefs.

We have multiple physical therapists that have received their certificate from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. The University began its manual therapy certification process in 1981 ensuring that clinicians taking these courses were performing these advanced skills safely as well as correctly interpreting their use in clinical practice. This University began its manual therapy certification process in 1981 ensuring that clinicians taking these courses were performing these advanced skills safely as well as correctly interpreting their use in clinical practice.

This particular Manual Therapy Certification (MTC) requires 169 hours of studies divided into a series of seven courses prior to a 32 hour certification process in which a clinician will be tested on the content of the course and its application. For all seven courses, a therapist must pass a written exam, oral exam, and practical exam to receive their certificate. A physical therapist that completes this rigorous certification is recognized as a certified manual therapist who specializes in a hands-on approach to patient care.

Manual physical therapy is a very effective form of treating patients with soft tissue injuries and/or joint dysfunctions and is frequently practiced here at PT Professionals.

Athletic training is recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) as a health care profession since 1990. The athletic training education is offered as a Bachelor’s degree or entry- level Master’s degree at many educational institutions across the United States.

A certified athletic trainer is a health care professional who has earned a degree from an accredited athletic training curriculum. Students of an accredited athletic training curriculum engage in rigorous classroom study and clinical education in a variety of practice settings such as high schools, colleges/universities, hospitals, emergency rooms, physician offices and health care clinics over the course of the degree program.

Accredited programs include formal instruction in areas such as injury/illness prevention, first aid and emergency care, assessment of injury/illness, human anatomy and physiology, therapeutic modalities, and nutrition. Athletic training encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and intervention of emergency, acute, and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitations, and disabilities.

At PT Professionals full time therapists have advanced training, with educational requirements higher than any of our competitors. We are focused on helping people and improving the quality of life for our patients. We provide the environment that our highly trained staff of providers can use their hand skills and education to work with patients.

Our staff of highly trained and specialized physical therapists provides a positive impact on our community and also to the health care system. We are in close communication with primary care physicians and we routinely screen patients for health issues, not just for the injury that that prompted the referral to our office.