Celebrating 45 Years of Physical Therapy Research
June 10th, 2024 — This summer we continue to celebrate 45 years of funding physical therapy research and supporting the doctoral education of future researchers.
Over the last several decades, dedicated researchers have been building a sound evidence base to show the effectiveness of physical therapy. Thanks to these research efforts physical therapy is considered a valuable contributor to societal health and has helped make strong cases for reimbursement for services and care.
With the support of our donors and funded researchers, the Foundation invests in the future of the profession by funding physical therapy research and supporting the doctoral education of future researchers.
As the Foundation imagines the possibilities for the future, we want to take a look back to see how far the profession has come since our founding in 1979.
The physical therapy profession has undergone significant changes from 1979 to 2024. These changes encompass advances in education, practice standards, technology, and the overall role of physical therapists in the healthcare system.
“The Foundation strives to increase support for filling in evidence gaps, and to create more opportunities to support capacity development in our grant and scholarship offerings. Our investments in educating new PT researchers, as well as supporting research directly, will drive innovation and research in underserved areas, build a deeper and broader bench of PT researchers, and spur innovation,” says Foundation President, Paul A. Rockar, Jr., PT, DPT, MS, FAPTA.
Thanks to the vision of our founders who set out to create a cadre of physical therapy investigators, the profession has evolved significantly by expanding its scope, integrating advanced technology, and emphasizing higher education and evidence-based practice to improve patient care and outcomes.
By supporting early career researchers, we continue to invest in the future of physical therapy as a profession. Nothing is more valuable to advancing our profession than the investment we make today in innovation and research.
Sources:
https://www.apta.org/apta-magazine/2021/09/01/future-of-profession
https://www.apta.org/apta-history
https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/96/8/1122/2864869
https://www.hydroworx.com/blog/rising-physical-therapy-trends/