There are about 1,500 licensed physical therapists in Iowa. Most are employed in hospitals, but they also work in schools (K-12), rehabilitation centers, extended care facilities, home health agencies, academic institutions, business and industry, and a small number are employed in private offices. They often work in concert with occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists (speech therapists) and specialists in orthotics and prosthetics. Iowa law provides direct access to physical therapy, and patients may be treated by physical therapists without physician referral.

Physical therapists (PTs) are health care professionals who diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives. PTs examine each individual and develop a plan using treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. They are recognized by mainstream medicine as the experts in evaluation and treatment of conditions that limit mobility and function.

PTs learn in their core curriculum how to utilize a large number of treatment methods and techniques that range from physiotherapy joint manipulation/mobilization to the treatment of stroke and cardiac patients. If you are hospitalized, you will normally meet with a physical therapist on your first day of recovery.

All of these techniques are included in the Iowa PT's scope of practice. Iowa Code Chapter 148A states that "physical therapy is that branch of science that deals with the evaluation and treatment of human capabilities and impairments. Physical therapy uses the effective properties of physical agents including, but not limited to, mechanical devices, heat, cold, air, light, water, electricity, and sound, and therapeutic exercises, and rehabilitative procedures to prevent, correct, minimize, or alleviate a physical impairment. Physical therapy includes the interpretation of performances, tests, and measurements, the establishment and modification of physical therapy programs, treatment planning, consultative services, instructions to the patients, and the administration and supervision attendant to physical therapy facilities." Simply stated, PTs have a very large "toolbox" of tools they have learned to master and employ as needed to help patients restore mobility and function.

Physical therapy grew with the development of modern professional medicine and is reinforced by massive amounts of primary and clinical research across every area of medicine. This research is used by PT clinicians to support "evidence-based" treatment techniques that are at the cutting edge of patient rehabilitation. Iowa physical therapists are required to obtain 40 hours of continuing education each biennium.

There are four postgraduate physical therapy education programs in Iowa offering physical therapist professional education (entry-level doctorate). Using the program in the College of Medicine at the University of Iowa as an example, 36 students are accepted each summer from a pool of 200-400 applicants. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and must have completed prerequisite courses in biological sciences, chemistry, physics, physiology, psychology, mathematics and statistics. Applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 (the average GPA for those admitted is 3.8) and have a minimum score of 1,000 on the Graduate Record Examination. The 2½-year program is an intense, year-round curriculum that includes a 37-week clinical internship. Following successful completion of the program, the graduates are awarded a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree (DPT) and may sit for the national board exams.

Physical therapists who have met practice prerequisites may seek certification as a clinical specialist by successfully completing national certification examinations in cardiovascular and pulmonary, clinical electrophysiology, geriatric, neurology, orthopedic, pediatric or sports. Click here for a list of Iowa PTs who are clinical specialists.

There are five accredited education programs for physical therapist assistants in Iowa that offer a two-year AA program. Following graduation and successful completion of the board exam, they may treat patients when under the supervision of a physical therapist.