Physical therapy is an exciting, rewarding, and important health profession that applies scientific principles to prevent and remedy problems in human movement. Undoubtedly you have already been exposed to physical therapy in one way or another. Perhaps you or someone you know has sought physical therapy for rehabilitation after an injury, or has increased relieved lower back pain through therapeutic exercise. Maybe you know of an individual who has regained the ability to walk following a stroke, or another who has increased muscular endurance for maximum performance in athletics.
Doctors of physical therapy specialize in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders that can impair or prevent normal physical function. Trained to understand, detect, treat, and remedy a vast array of movement dysfunction, physical therapists employ basic and clinical science to relieve pain, to enhance strength, endurance, coordination, flexibility, joint range of motion, and to provide training for mobility and independence in the home and throughout the community.
