Pick a Licensed Physical Therapist for Chronic Aches and Pains The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) does not have authorization for licensing bodily therapy professionals. Individual state regulatory boards on the contrary manage licensing. The exams aren’t administered by the APTA either for PTs or the PTAs as the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) administers it. In all fifty states of continental United States including DC, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands PTs can apply for license to practice. In any of the fifty states that physical therapists practice, a license to practice is essential and is subject to renewal regularly with mandatory continued professional training in most states. Its mandatory for physical therapists to practice by abiding by the guidelines as mandated and defined by the licensing laws of these states. The practice act in its entirety including the rules, form the law that govern the practice of physical therapy in a state. In all fifty states including DC, assistants to physical therapists get their license and certification. Hawaii made it mandatory for PTAs to have a license to practice in only recently. License or certification is mandatory in each and every state that a PTA works and renewal is necessary regularly with most states needing continued professional education as a criterion to fulfill to renew license. The requirement to supervise and the scope of a PTA’s work are regulated by the physical therapy practice act in each and every state.
At its core state licensing has restrictions for the licensee exclusively in relation to a certain profession. Those who comply with the standards as prescribed and established by the regulatory board of the state will, to protect and to make sure that the public is benefited would have the permission to declare their qualifications and render their services to the general public. The onus is on the state for evaluation and affirmation of the qualifications for approval and validation of license of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. The regulatory entity of a state among other tools uses a tool to ascertain as to whether or not a PT or PTA has complied with the minimum requirement which is the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE). This is a test of specific competency and certifies someone as a licensed physiotherapist. Rather than visiting a quack that may not have the skills or the technique to perform a massage and could in the process permanently damage or cause harm to any part of the physique, it is advisable and indeed recommended to be under consultation with a physiotherapist with a license to practice. They would give saner advise and if their advice is paid heed to then anybody seeking massage therapy would be benefited in the long run. A quack would obviously cost much less than a physiotherapist with license but then to save a couple of bucks if one is permanently disabled then that would be a higher price to pay. All said and done, anybody in their right frame of mind would never ever visit a quack. There have been instances of able people being disabled because they were not knowledgeable enough and it was unimaginable for them the extent of physical damage that these untrained and unqualified therapists can potentially cause. Once the damage is done, its irreversible and it’s a high price to pay for naivetÊ.