The Physical Therapy team provides advanced evaluation and management of acute and chronically ill patients with musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiopulmonary, and/or soft tissue impairment. The goal is restoration or maintenance of sensorimotor abilities to promote cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills that will prevent or retard the development of potential sensorimotor dysfunction.

Research is the key to clinical effectiveness and enables the Physical Therapy professionals to provide patients with state-of-the-art-treatments. Physical Therapy services range from patient assessment to full return to functional activities and from bedside to recreation and employment.

As a profession, physical therapy emphasizes research on functional outcomes. Physical Therapy at the NIH Clinical Center has structured its clinical and research programs to adopt the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research’s (NCMRR) disability model which focuses on functional outcomes.

NCMRR classifies disability as:

NCMRR Terms	Example
Pathophysiology	Cancer of the leg
Impairment	Amputation due to cancer
Functional Limitations	Unable to walk or stand for long periods of time
Disability	Unable to work
Societal Limitation	Due to inability to work, unable to provide income for the family (impact on others/society)

The Physical Therapy clinical, research and education programs are as richly diverse as the patient populations themselves. The goal of these programs is for the patient to achieve the highest level of function possible as guided by the model set forth by the NCMRR.