On September 8, 2025, we celebrate the 30th World Physical Therapy Day.

On September 8, 2025, we celebrate the 30th World Physical Therapy Day.

As the most influential professional holiday in the global physical therapy field, World Physical Therapy Day has profound meaning and a clear mission: it recognizes the professional value of nearly 2 million physical therapists worldwide, and serves as an important way to unite the industry and share rehabilitation concepts.

Its core features lie in "professionalism" and "globality" — it not only highlights the professional role of physical therapists in rehabilitating functional impairments and safeguarding health, but also promotes communication and cooperation in the physical therapy industry across different countries and regions through synchronized global celebrations.

This day holds even greater special significance for China’s physical therapy sector — it marks the first time China, as a member of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT, now known as World Physiotherapy), stands with physical therapists worldwide to celebrate this professional gathering.

From modest early days to a presence on the global stage, physical therapy in China has evolved through decades of dedicated work — every step reflects a commitment to professionalism and a global outlook.

 Today, let’s trace the timeline to look back at how Chinese physical therapy has gradually aligned with international standards and advanced toward global development.

The Journey Toward Globalization

The development of physical therapy in China is a history of striving — evolving from "catching up" to "running aside" with the world.

◆Year 2013

The starting point of educational internationalization: In June 2013, the physical therapy program at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, passed the international Level 1 program accreditation for the first time. This followed a rigorous review by WCPT (the predecessor of WPT) that spanned two years and covered 230 items.

It is the first program on the Chinese mainland to receive WCPT accreditation, marking the start of China’s physical therapy higher education aligning with WPT’s international standards.

◆Year 2016

Professional Expansion and Talent Development: As educational internationalization took off, physical therapy in China entered a critical phase of "diversified growth and talent accumulation." More physical therapy programs at various institutions have since obtained WCPT international accreditation.

Meanwhile, the international training program (CSDLM) for physical therapists, led by the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, has been launched on a large scale. It aims to provide professional physical therapy training for existing domestic rehabilitation therapists, laying a solid foundation for a large pool of professionals in the future.

On July 29, 2016, the World Forum on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for Developing Countries was held in Kunming. The representative from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine received a certificate from Margot Skinner, President of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT). This incident signifies that the university’s physical therapy program not only meets international standards, but also has achieved the highest level of excellence.

◆Year 2023

Key Communication and a Clear Path Forward: Senior executives from WPT, including its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), visited China and held talks with representatives from the Chinese Physical Therapy Association (CPTA).

WPT warmly expressed its willingness to welcome China’s membership, while also pointing out a primary challenge: the organization must ensure that the majority of its members are physical therapists and that it is led by physical therapists. This communication clarified the direction for the eventual success of China’s application.

On September 8, 2023, the Chinese Physical Therapy Association (CPTA) hosted a seminar on Rehabilitation Physiotherapy Education and Professional Development at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou to celebrate World Physical Therapy Day. Jonathon Kruger, Chief Executive Officer of World Physiotherapy, Heidi Kosakowski, Head of Membership and Policy at World Physiotherapy, and Alice Jones, Emeritus Professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, were invited to attend the seminar.

◆2024年

Formal Membership in the World Physiotherapy (WPT): After years of preparation and effort, Chinese physiotherapy finally achieved a landmark breakthrough in 2024.

On December 18, 2024, the results of the electronic vote by the member organizations of the World Physiotherapy (WPT) were officially announced, and the Chinese Society of Physical Therapy was admitted as a WPT member with an overwhelming majority of votes.

The Start of a New Chapter: On January 1, 2025, the WPT membership of the Chinese Society of Physical Therapy officially took effect. This means that Chinese physical therapy has officially stepped onto the international stage, gaining an "entry ticket" to participate in the decision-making of global physical therapy affairs and share cutting-edge international resources.

From May 29 to 31, 2025, the 36th World Congress of Physical Therapy kicked off on the international stage. The Chinese PT delegation, bringing years of accumulated research results and clinical experience, participated in the conference for the first time as an official member.

At this congress, the professional capabilities of Chinese physical therapists were fully demonstrated — several research findings were presented in multiple exchange sessions of the congress, covering areas such as neurological rehabilitation, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, and oncology rehabilitation, which attracted widespread attention and active discussions from international peers.

Among them, the poster The Factors Influencing Shoulder Mobility Disorders after Radical Breast Cancer Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Study submitted by Beijing Chaoyang District Third Ring Cancer Hospital stood out among numerous global studies in the field of women's health and successfully won the "Outstanding Poster Award in the Professional Category" (Women's Health Professional Group). This is not only a recognition of the scientific research level of Chinese physical therapy, but also allows the world to see the professional depth of China in this secondary subject.

Definition of Physical Therapy

Physiotherapy, or physical therapy (PT), is a core component of rehabilitation therapy. Its core value lies in using non-invasive and non-pharmacological treatment methods to help patients recover from and improve functional impairments, as well as rebuild their ability to live independently after illness or injury.

China has a clear definition for the role of physical therapists: they are professionals who assess patients with functional impairments, provide evidence-based interventions, conduct re-evaluations, and offer patient education. Using physical agents such as therapeutic exercise, manual manipulation (hands-on techniques), and device-based therapy, they maximize the promotion, maintenance, and reconstruction of patients’ motor functions and activities of daily living.

This evidence-based "assessment - intervention - re-assessment" model is precisely the core embodiment of the professionalism of physical therapy.

Everyone needs physical therapy

In the past, the general public widely held the belief that "only people with disabilities need rehabilitation". However, with the development of rehabilitation medicine, this perception is being completely overturned.

The World Report on Disability issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) points out that everyone will experience functional impairments at some point in their life, either early or late. Functional impairment is a form of living with disability, which means rehabilitation medicine is closely related to everyone’s life.

Physical therapy falls under the scope of rehabilitation medicine. Rehabilitation medicine integrates a variety of methods, aiming to help patients with disabilities or impairments restore lost functions to the greatest extent and assist them in reintegrating into normal life.

Unlike other medical disciplines, rehabilitation medicine focuses extensively on patients' overall health. It not only aims to restore patients' physical functions but also pays attention to the adjustment of their mental states and the reconstruction of their social adaptability.

（△ Postoperative Rehabilitation）

Whether it is postoperative functional recovery, chronic pain relief, or functional reconstruction after nerve injury, physical therapy can help patients gradually improve their functions, enhance their quality of life, and even return to work and society through personalized programs.

From developmental correction for children to fall prevention for the elderly, and from injury rehabilitation for athletes to posture adjustment for ordinary people, physical therapy covers service scenarios across all stages of life, truly realizing the value of "health protection for all".

The safety and effectiveness of physical therapy

The most prominent advantage of physical therapy lies in its "safe and non-invasive" treatment characteristics — it requires no surgery or medication, and can achieve rehabilitation intervention for a variety of conditions through scientific methods such as exercise training, manual intervention, and physical agent therapy.

But "safety" does not indicate "limited effectiveness"; on the contrary, physical therapy plays an irreplaceable and crucial role in the rehabilitation process of many conditions.

Take stroke as an example: through systematic limb function training and neuromuscular electrical stimulation, physical therapy can help patients gradually restore limb mobility and reduce the impact of hemiplegic sequelae. For patients after fracture surgery, scientific joint range of motion training and muscle strength training can effectively prevent joint stiffness and muscle atrophy, and shorten the rehabilitation cycle.

These clinical practices fully prove that physical therapy can not only relieve symptoms, but also fundamentally improve functional impairments, laying a foundation for patients’ long-term health.

The Application of Physical Therapy in Various Fields

The application scenarios of physical therapy are extremely extensive, covering almost multiple important branches of the health field. Its core goal has always been to help people with different needs restore functions and improve health status through scientific intervention. The following is a detailed introduction from six core fields:

Neurorehabilitation Field

Neurorehabilitation is one of the important application fields of physical therapy, mainly targeting functional impairments caused by neurological diseases or injuries. This field focuses on helping patients improve limb motor function, enhance balance and coordination abilities, reduce spasticity, and improve gait through targeted methods such as exercise training, balance training, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation. Ultimately, it aims to rebuild patients' self-care abilities and help them better adapt to daily life and social environments.

Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Field

Musculoskeletal rehabilitation focuses on functional issues related to muscles, bones, and joints, and it is one of the most widely applied fields in physical therapy. Through intervention methods such as manual therapy, exercise training, and physical agents (e.g., ultrasound, shock waves), this field include those techniques which can effectively relieve pain caused by musculoskeletal system disorders, improve joint range of motion, enhance muscle strength and endurance, and help patients restore normal motor function. Whether it is chronic strain, acute injury, or functional recovery during the postoperative rehabilitation period, symptom relief and functional improvement can be achieved through scientific intervention.

Postpartum Rehabilitation Field

Postpartum rehabilitation is an important branch focusing on women’s health. Targeting common postpartum issues in women such as pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, abdominal diastasis recti, and postural abnormalities, it helps postpartum women restore pelvic floor muscle function, improve abdominal shape, adjust posture, relieve discomforts like postpartum low back pain, promote comprehensive recovery of physical functions and appearance, and enhance their quality of life and health status through methods including pelvic floor muscle training, abdominal diastasis recti repair training, manual correction, and biofeedback therapy.

Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Field

Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation techniques mainly serve people with cardiopulmonary diseases. Through personalized exercise prescriptions (such as aerobic exercise, breathing training), respiratory muscle function training, psychological intervention and other methods, it improves patients' cardiopulmonary function reserve, enhances exercise endurance, alleviates symptoms like shortness of breath and chest tightness, strengthens patients' self-care ability and activity ability, reduces the risk of recurrence of cardiopulmonary diseases, and helps patients better manage their diseases and improve their overall health status.

Oncology Rehabilitation Field

Oncology rehabilitation is a highly significant field in physical therapy, focusing on functional recovery and quality of life improvement for cancer patients during and after treatment. Through scientific methods such as exercise training, manual therapy, and physical agent intervention, it can effectively alleviate side effects caused by cancer treatment (e.g., surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy) — including muscle atrophy, joint stiffness, and fatigue — improve patients’ physical functions and mental state, help them better tolerate the treatment process, promote physical recovery after treatment, and assist them in returning to normal life.

Pediatric Rehabilitation Field

Pediatric rehabilitation targets various functional impairments that occur during children’s growth and development, such as cerebral palsy, developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, and pediatric musculoskeletal deformities. Through child-friendly intervention methods that align with children’s physiological characteristics — including gamified training, therapeutic exercise, occupational therapy, and physical agent therapy — it promotes the development of children’s motor function, language function, and cognitive abilities, improves abnormal postures and movement patterns, helps children maximize their potential, achieve developmental synchronization with peers of the same age, and lays a foundation for their future learning and life.

From children to adults, and from neurorehabilitation to oncology rehabilitation, physical therapy, with its broad applicability, provides professional support for the health needs of diverse populations.

In the context of global health issues, the health challenges brought about by aging are becoming increasingly prominent. As a key force in addressing these challenges, physical therapy has also become the core focus of this year’s World Physical Therapy Day.

Theme of World PT Day

The theme of World Physical Therapy Day in 2025, "The role of physiotherapy and physical activity in healthy ageing, with a focused look at preventing frailty and falls", precisely hits the core pain points of the global ageing society.

The global population aging is continuing to deepen, with China being particularly prominent. By the end of 2024, the population aged 60 and above had exceeded 300 million, accounting for 22% of the total population; the population aged 65 and above had surpassed 200 million; and more than 35 million elderly people with disabilities required long-term care. It is estimated that the number of elderly people with disabilities will increase to 58 million by 2050. Against this backdrop, issues such as fractures and functional decline caused by frailty and falls among the elderly are seriously affecting their quality of life.

And physical therapy is precisely the "professional tool" to address these issues.

Through scientific strength training, balance training, and gait training, physical therapy can effectively enhance the elderly’s muscle strength, improve their balance ability, and reduce the risk of falls. Combined with personalized physical activity guidance, it can further help the elderly maintain physical functions, delay aging, and prevent frailty from the root cause.

This theme not only clarifies the core value of physical therapy in an aging society, but also guides physical therapists worldwide to safeguard the health and dignity of the elderly with their expertise, supporting an "quality and dignified" aging life.

The Support of Elderly Care Robots

And advances in technology have brought new breakthroughs to the application of physical therapy in healthy aging — the emergence of "elderly care robots" is becoming a key force in bridging the gap between the supply and demand of elderly care services.

Exoskeleton robots help elderly people with mobility impairments walk again; physical therapy and care robots improve the efficiency and safety of physical therapy through accurate acupoint recognition; and intelligent elderly care robots alleviate the loneliness of elderly people living alone via AI voice interaction...

 (△ A bipedal humanoid general-purpose service robot assists the elderly in standing up)

These robots with diverse functions can not only assist in rehabilitation training and monitor health status, but also take care of the elderly’s daily living needs, provide emotional support, resolve the embarrassment of disabled elderly when using the toilet or taking a bath, break the social isolation of elderly people living alone, and turn "quality elderly care" from a vision into reality.

It is proud to note that China has gained international discourse power in the field of elderly care robots: in February 2025, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) officially released the world’s first international standard for elderly care robots, which was led by China — IEC 63310 "Performance Criteria for Active Assisted Living Robots Used in Connected Home Environments".

This standard focuses on data privacy protection and barrier-free design, sets a regulatory red line for the industry, and also provides a globally recognized "Chinese benchmark" for "robot-assisted elderly care".

To Physical Therapists

From its first breakthrough in educational internationalization in 2013 to its appearance on the international stage as a WPT member in 2025; from the initial shortage of talents to now winning honors at international conferences; from traditional therapy to AI robots supporting healthy aging — every step of China’s physical therapy development is inseparable from the perseverance and dedication of countless physical therapists.

They are the "companions" who patiently guide patients in rehabilitation training in the hospital, helping patients regain their functions little by little with professionalism and patience; they are the "popularizers" who popularize fall - prevention knowledge for the elderly in the community, conveying health concepts in simple language; they are the "explorers" who delve into new rehabilitation technologies in the laboratory, promoting the development of the industry with innovation; and they are even the "bridges" connecting patients with a healthy life, safeguarding everyone's health with responsibility and love.

On this festival belonging to physical therapists around the world, let us extend our most sincere respect to every physical therapist: Thank you for using professionalism as your pen and perseverance as your ink to write touching stories of "helping people with functional disabilities regain a new life"; thank you for taking innovation as your sail and dedication as your oars to blaze a new path for the high-quality development of China’s rehabilitation medicine; and thank you for leveraging your international perspective and local practice to promote Chinese physical therapy onto the global stage, ensuring that the voice of Chinese PT is heard worldwide.

 (△ CST Gentle Manipulation)

2025 is the first year for Chinese physical therapy to embark on a new international chapter, and also a starting point for physical therapy to play a greater role in the construction of Healthy China.

 In the future,

we hope more people will understand and trust physical therapy, and break misconceptions about "rehabilitation";

we hope more professionals will join the field of physical therapy to inject fresh vitality into the industry;

we hope Chinese physical therapy can conduct in-depth cooperation with global peers to share experience and promote common development.

Physical therapists safeguard functional rehabilitation with their professional expertise, enabling everyone to live a more dignified and quality life with their help!

Today, give a hug to the physical therapist around you! Happy Festival to all physical therapists!

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