Physical Therapy Info for the Public

The more you move, the better your health.  Physical therapists are movement experts who team with physical therapist assistants to help people of all ages, abilities, and conditions meet their movement goals.

Yes, in North Carolina, anyone can make an appointment with a physical therapist with or without a referral.  PTs collaborate closely with physicians and their referrals as well.  (Different health insurance companies may have referral requirements for particular plans).

DPT stands for Doctor of Physical Therapy, and is the educational degree awarded to graduates of physical therapy graduate programs.  "DPT," "Doctor of Physical Therapy," and "Physical Therapist" are legally protected terms which mean that people cannot imply that they are a physical therapist without a license.

Physical therapy can help manage pain, maximixe movement, enhance performance improvement, avoid surgery and medications, prevent chronic disease.

You may be familiar with rehabilitation guided by a PTA/PT team after a surgery; however, we can help you with so much more!  A PT can evaluate acute injury as well as entrenched chronic pain.  The PT/PTA team can help with:

• Headaches and dizziness
• Aches, pains, injuries, sprains, strains of all regions and joints from the hand to the foot, from the TMJ to the sacroiliac joint
• Neurological disease conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclorosis, spinal cord injury, and more
• Concussion/Traumatic Brain Injury
• Balance problems to include vestibular conditions
• General deconditioning
• Performance improvement from athletes of all kinds
• People of all ages from infant through adolescence through adulthood to later age

Find out more about PTA and PT school here. Plus, if you have gradeschool or high school children, we would love to introduce them to this profession!

You can count on a healthcare providers who is a member of their professional Association to care about best practice. FInd a member near you!