Roles And Responsibilities Of The Physical Therapist In Collegiate Athletics: Results Of A National Survey.
Michael Zarro, Oliver Silverson, Wade Soenksen and 4 others
PMID 36237651WHAT IT FOUND
Most PTs in college sports do far more than rehab.
Nearly all provide performance enhancement and manual therapy, and 90% communicate directly with athletics staff. Roles vary widely by employer and experience, not by gender or dual credentials.
Key findings
01All respondents provided rehabilitation exercises, but 97% also provided sports performance enhancement and 96% manual therapy.
02Ninety percent of PTs communicated directly with athletics staff, and 44% were involved in event coverage.
03PTs with more than 15 years of experience had significantly more job duties than those with less experience, but gender and dual PT/AT status did not affect the number of duties.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The survey was distributed primarily to a single professional organization, so non-members who treat collegiate athletes were likely missed. The response rate was 2.91%, which is very low and may mean the results reflect only the most engaged or available PTs. Gender questions did not use inclusive, confirmatory language, so non-binary PTs may have avoided responding. No data on race or ethnicity were collected. The survey occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have altered roles or response behavior. Self-reported duties and treatments were not verified against actual practice.
Declared interests
The authors declared no financial disclosures or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these roles and responsibilities apply to all collegiate PTs. The survey captured only 140 respondents from a very low response rate among members of a single specialty group, and it excluded PTs working only on a volunteer basis or in unaffiliated outpatient clinics.