A house of delegates representing chapter members was established to set APTA policies. The house elected a board of directors, previously the executive committee, to manage the association. In addition, sections were created to promote and develop specific objectives of the profession. The first two sections were the school and private practice sections. .
Now headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, APTA has grown to include more than 66,000 physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and students throughout the country. As a national professional organization, the goals of the APTA include increasing the understanding of the physical therapist's role in our nation's health care system and to promote improvements in physical therapy education, practice, and research. Currently 131 institutions offer physical therapy education programs and 135 institutions offer physical therapist assistant education programs in the United States. .
Since then, physical therapy has progressed in leaps and bounds in perfecting its methods of healing. Physical therapy now provides services to people of all ages and ailments. For most patients, therapy should come as a referral from another clinic, such as emergency room settings, athletic trainers, and the offices of family practitioners. .
For people suffering from health problems due to injury or disease, the physical therapist helps build strength while relieving pain and restoring use of the affected limb so that activities of daily living can be relearned and quality of life can be restored at an acceptable level. It can be used to aid motor development in infants, help accident victims prevent loss of flexibility and abnormal scarring, help stroke survivors return to daily activities, and strengthen and soothe cancer patients. It can also be used to help relieve chronic lower back pain and restore function to those who suffer from it.
