Physical therapy can be a great way to help you get back in the game, whether you’re recovering from an injury and want to get back to your normal activities or you’re struggling with a chronic condition that’s causing you pain.

Physical therapy works by helping your body heal itself. A physical therapist can help you build strength and improve your mobility, which can help restore your range of motion, strengthen muscles, and relieve pain. Physical therapists can also teach you exercises and techniques that can help you manage pain symptoms and improve your quality of life.

For Physical Therapy

What Is Physical Therapy?
By Susan Bernstein
Medically Reviewed by Ross Brakeville, DPT on July 31, 2021
IN THIS ARTICLE
What Is a Physical Therapist?
What Does a PT Do?
Where Do You Get PT?
Your doctor might suggest this type of treatment if you’ve had an injury or illness that makes it hard to do daily tasks.

Physical therapy (PT) is care that aims to ease pain and help you function, move, and live better. You may need it to:

Relieve pain
Improve movement or ability
Prevent or recover from a sports injury
Prevent disability or surgery
Rehab after a stroke, accident, injury, or surgery
Work on balance to prevent a slip or fall
Manage a chronic illness like diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis
Recover after you give birth
Control your bowels or bladder
Adapt to an artificial limb
Learn to use assistive devices like a walker or cane
Get a splint or brace
People of all ages benefit from physical therapy. It can treat a variety of health problems.

What Is a Physical Therapist?
These licensed health professionals engage in specific graduate training in physical therapy. You may hear them called PTs or physiotherapists.

As of 2016, to be eligible to sit for the national exam, you need to graduate from an accredited higher educational institution with a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. An additional state exam must also be passed to earn a license.

Physical therapists evaluate your condition and develop a care plan that guides your therapy. They may perform hands-on treatments for your symptoms. They also teach you special exercises to help you move and function better.

In most states, you can go directly to a physical therapist without a referral from your doctor. Or your doctor might prescribe it. Check your insurance policy to see if you need a prescription to cover the cost.

If you have a serious illness or injury, a PT won’t take the place of other doctors, but they will work with your doctors and other health care professionals to guide treatments. You’ll feel better and you’ll be more likely to get back full function in the area being treated, and in most cases, faster than without the guidance of a PT.

PTs often have assistants. They’re also trained to do many types of physical treatments.

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What Does a PT Do?
At your first therapy session, your PT will examine and assess your needs. They’ll ask you questions about your pain or other symptoms, your ability to move or do everyday tasks, how well you sleep, and your medical history. The objective is to determine a diagnosis of your condition, why you have the condition, including impairments that either caused or are a result of the condition then develop a plan of care to address each.

The PT will administer tests to measure:

How well you can move around, reach, bend, or grasp
How well you walk or climb steps
Your heartbeat or rhythm while active
Your posture or balance
Then, they’ll work with you to create a treatment plan. It will include your personal goals like functioning and feeling better, plus exercises or other treatments to help you reach them.

You may take less or more time to reach those goals than other people in physical therapy. Everyone is different. You may also have more or fewer sessions than others. It just depends on your needs.

You treatments might include:

Exercises or stretches guided by your therapist
Massage, heat, or cold therapy, warm water therapy, or ultrasound to ease muscle pain or spasms
Rehab to help you learn to use an artificial limb
Practice with gadgets that help you move or stay balanced, like a cane or walker
Your therapist will watch your progress and adjust your treatments as necessary.

You can do the exercises your therapist teaches you at home between sessions. This will help you stay on track and improve your fitness.

Where Do You Get PT?
PTs sometimes come to your home to guide your therapy. They also work in:

Hospitals
Outpatient clinics
Sports medicine centers
Private medical offices
Nursing homes
Assisted living homes
Rehab centers
Offices and work sites
Schools or colleges

physical therapist salary

How Much Does a Physical Therapist Make?
Physical Therapists made a median salary of $91,010 in 2020. The best-paid 25 percent made $106,060 that year, while the lowest-paid 25 percent made $75,360.
25%
$75,360
Median
$91,010
75%
$106,060
Salary Outlook
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
$70,000
$80,000
$90,000
$100,000
What is the Outlook for Physical Therapists?
The physical therapy field is growing in both salary and job volume. The BLS projects the physical therapy field will grow 21% between 2020 and 2030, with 49,100 jobs added by that time.

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Physical Therapist

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Physical Therapist – Outpatient – (PT)

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Physical Therapist Assistant – Outpatient Clinic

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Therapist / Physical Therapy / Missouri / PT / PHYSICAL THERAPIST / TRAVELER Job

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Best-Paying Cities for Physical Therapists
The metropolitan areas that pay the highest salary in the physical therapist profession are El Centro, Modesto, Visalia, Bakersfield, and Yuma.
El Centro, California
$143,500
Modesto, California
$123,370
Visalia, California
$119,510
Bakersfield, California
$115,170
Yuma, Arizona
$114,920
The 5 Best-Paying Cities for Physical Therapists

View All 5 Slides
Best-Paying States for Physical Therapists
The states and districts that pay Physical Therapists the highest mean salary are Nevada ($108,580), California ($104,500), Alaska ($101,190), New Jersey ($100,740), and Connecticut ($100,580).

Nevada
$108,580
California
$104,500
Alaska
$101,190
New Jersey
$100,740
Connecticut
$100,580
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Physical Therapist

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What is the Physical Therapist Salary by Place of Employment?
In addition to region and education, factors such as specialty, industry and employer have an effect on a physical therapist’s salary. The top-paying places of employment with the highest average annual salaries for this career are spectator sports ($108,520); outpatient care centers ($105,600); individual and family services ($101,240); child day care services ($99,910); and office administrative services ($98,510). Most physical therapists work full time. Most physical therapists work during typical business hours, but some work nights or weekends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much do physical therapists make in New York?
A: In 2020, physical therapists earned an average salary of $92,860 in the state of New York and $99,450 in the New York City metropolitan area.

Q: What is a physical therapist’s hourly wage?
A: Physical therapists made an average of $44.08 an hour in 2020.
Average Physical Therapist Pay vs. Other Best Jobs
Physical Therapists earned an average salary of $91,680 in 2020. Comparable jobs earned the following average salary in 2020: Audiologists made $89,230, Occupational Therapists made $87,480, Speech-Language Pathologists made $83,240, and Physical Therapist Assistants made $59,440.
95,000

71,250

47,500

23,750

0

95,000

71,250

47,500

23,750

0

Physical Therapist

Audiologist

Occupational Therapist

Speech-Language Pathologist

Physical Therapist Assistant

Jobs Related to Physical Therapist
Physical Therapist Assistant – Average Salary, $59,440
A physical therapist assistant helps physical therapists with the process of examining a patient and determining an action plan.

Occupational Therapist – Average Salary, $87,480
An occupational therapist, often required to earn a master’s degree in occupational therapy, treats patients who are injured, sick or disabled by helping them perform day-to-day activities.

Speech-Language Pathologist – Average Salary, $83,240
A speech-language pathologist evaluates and treats patients for speech, language, sound and swallowing disorders.

Audiologist – Average Salary, $89,230
An audiologist assesses a patient’s hearing and balance and treats issues such as vertigo or hearing impairment.
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