You want the best care when you hurt your back or sprain an ankle. Experts in physical therapy can help you get better and stay pain-free.

Musculoskeletal problems are the most common cause of disability worldwide, and physical therapists—THE musculoskeletal experts—have a unique set of tools to reduce your pain and improve your mobility. They assess your condition, formulate a plan of treatment, and guide you through exercises and other treatments that help you avoid surgery or addictive opioids and manage your pain naturally.

Experts in Physical Therapy: Transforming Lives Through Movement

But you may not be sure how to choose the right PT for your needs. In the past, some PTs used “voodoo techniques” such as ultrasound and lasers that were thought to speed healing by sending high-frequency sound waves into injured muscles. These practices fell out of favor as scientists accumulated evidence that they didn’t actually work.

Recently, researchers investigated whether expert physical therapists (PTs) really are better at treating injuries and other conditions. They looked at patient outcomes of therapists who were nominated by their peers to be expert and compared them with therapists who had not been nominated.

The research uncovered four core dimensions that distinguish expert PTs: clinical reasoning, movement skill, values & virtues, and the therapeutic alliance. The researchers also found that the expert PTs were able to create a patient-centered environment in which they listened to and believed in their patients, communicated well with them, and worked with them to set measurable goals.