Programs that evaluate joint motion, muscle strength and endurance, heart and lung function and the ability of people to perform activities of daily living; and utilize the therapeutic properties of exercise, heat, cold, electricity, ultraviolet, water, manipulation and massage to improve circulation, strengthen muscles, reduce pain and restore mobility to people who have been disabled by a stroke, arthritis, back or spinal cord injuries or other debilitating conditions. Physical therapists practice in a variety of settings including hospitals, private offices, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, developmental centers, home health agencies, schools and pediatric centers.

Individuals who are generally between the ages of 18 and 25 depending on the ages that specific programs use for qualification.

Acute or chronic problems involving the back, the muscles of the back or their attachments in the lower lumbar, lumbosacral or sacroiliac areas, or the vertebral column.

Any of a number of conditions including concussions, sprains and strains, shoulder separations, hamstring injuries, knee ligament injuries, shin splints, foot and ankle injuries, bursitis, tendonitis, stress fractures or broken bones that occur in the context of playing a sport or engaging in other forms of recreation.

A condition in which the individual experiences diffuse pain, which may be acute or chronic, in different portions of the head including the frontal, temporal or occipital regions, or that is confined to one side of the head or the region immediately over the eyes. The character of the pain may vary from a dull ache to an acute pain that is almost unbearable, and may be an intermittent intense pain, a throbbing pain, a pressure pain or a penetrating pain driving through the head.

A condition in which an individual experiences pain which persists beyond the expected time required for healing of an injury or after the expected course of an acute illness, usually with a duration of greater than six months. Chronic pain arises from a number of causes including invasion or compression syndromes due to cancer, neurological disorders such as neuralgia, phantom limb pain, nerve entrapment syndromes, spinal cord damage, muscular inflammation syndromes, and syndromes involving lesions in the thalamus.

Severe aching pain affecting the head, jaw and face that is believed to result when the temporomandibular joints and the muscles and ligaments that control and support them do not work together correctly. Tinnitis, pain that is made worse by chewing and deafness may also be present.

Diseases or conditions which impair the musculoskeletal system including the skeleton, joints, muscles, fascia and other supporting structures such as the ligaments and cartilage.