How many physical therapists are in the us

Low back pain sufferers were the focus of a study published in the Health Services Research journal. Patients who were referred to a physical therapist for their back pain, were compared with those who had an advanced imaging referral MRI. They were also less likely to receive surgery, pain injections and made fewer trips to the emergency room within a year. All the research points in the same direction , physical therapy is highly effective for treating low back pain.

Though you might think of physical therapists just treating musculoskeletal issues, it actually has many other benefits. Four studies and articles were reviewed to understand if it should be recommended as a treatment for vertigo. Physical therapy specifically exercise-based vestibular rehabilitation , helped relieve the chronic dizziness that plagues those with the condition. Physical therapy is a great way to help critically ill patients stay active while in intensive care.

However medical professionals wanted to understand if the treatment was safe. Similarly to chiropractic care , it has a good safety record when compared to other back pain treatments such as steroids, pain medication and surgery.

Sign-up for The Good Body mailing list and be the first to receive our latest news! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more Got it! There is so much to learn about physical therapy! The average physical therapy clinic sees between and patients each week. Key Statistics on Physical Therapy. Interesting Statistics about Physical Therapy. There are currently , physical therapists registered in the US.

Physical therapists are most likely to work in a private clinic, hospital or nursing home. Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U. Source: U. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. In May , the median annual wages for physical therapists in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:.

Most physical therapists work full time. Although most therapists work during normal business hours, some work evenings or weekends. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program. Demand for physical therapy will come in part from the large number of aging baby boomers, who are staying more active later in life than their counterparts of previous generations. Older people are more likely to experience heart attacks, strokes, and mobility-related injuries that require physical therapy for rehabilitation.

In addition, a number of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity, have become more prevalent in recent years.

More physical therapists will be needed to help these patients maintain their mobility and manage the effects of chronic conditions. Advances in medical technology have increased the use of outpatient surgery to treat a variety of injuries and illnesses. Medical and technological developments also are expected to permit survival of a greater number of trauma victims and newborns with birth defects, creating additional demand for rehabilitative care.

Physical therapists will continue to help these patients recover from surgery. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.

The link s below go to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area. All state projections data are available at www. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area.

There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area.

There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code. This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of physical therapists. Chiropractors treat patients with health problems of the neuromusculoskeletal system, which includes nerves, bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

Occupational therapists treat patients who have injuries, illnesses, or disabilities through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. Physical therapist assistants and aides are supervised by physical therapists to help patients regain movement and manage pain after injuries and illnesses. Recreational therapists plan, direct, and coordinate recreation-based treatment programs for people with disabilities, injuries, or illnesses. Speech-language pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults.

Athletic trainers specialize in preventing, diagnosing, and treating muscle and bone injuries and illnesses. Exercise physiologists develop fitness and exercise programs that help injured or sick patients recover.

Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare. Physician assistants practice medicine on teams with physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare workers. American Physical Therapy Association.

Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. For more information about state licensing requirements and about the National Physical Therapy Exam, visit. Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Physical Therapists. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 8, The What They Do tab describes the typical duties and responsibilities of workers in the occupation, including what tools and equipment they use and how closely they are supervised.

This tab also covers different types of occupational specialties. The Work Environment tab includes the number of jobs held in the occupation and describes the workplace, the level of physical activity expected, and typical hours worked. It may also discuss the major industries that employed the occupation. This tab may also describe opportunities for part-time work, the amount and type of travel required, any safety equipment that is used, and the risk of injury that workers may face.

The How to Become One tab describes how to prepare for a job in the occupation. This tab can include information on education, training, work experience, licensing and certification, and important qualities that are required or helpful for entering or working in the occupation. The Pay tab describes typical earnings and how workers in the occupation are compensated—annual salaries, hourly wages, commissions, tips, or bonuses.

Within every occupation, earnings vary by experience, responsibility, performance, tenure, and geographic area. For most profiles, this tab has a table with wages in the major industries employing the occupation.

Outpatient care centers is the industry that employs the most Physical therapists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Physical therapists, by average wage, is Administration of human resource programs. Insurance sales agents make somewhat more than Physical therapists while Environmental scientists and specialists, including health make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Physical therapists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Physical therapists shown in red than for the overall labor force shown in gray.

The most common industries employing Physical therapists, by number of employees, are Outpatient care centers , General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty except psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals , and Home health care services. The number of people employed as Physical therapists has been growing at a rate of 6.

This graphic shows the share of Physical therapists employed by various industries. Outpatient care centers employs the largest share of Physical therapists at Demographic information on Physical therapists in the US. The average age of male Physical therapists in the workforce is This chart shows the gender breakdown of Physical therapists. Representing