PT Pintcast

09/09/2026

Focus on benefits… ditch features

09/08/2026

You joining this gang? 🤣

09/08/2026

PT Breakfast Club 9/8

09/08/2026

🤣

09/07/2026

PTAs are projected to grow nearly twice as fast as PTs.

Why aren’t we talking about that?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its new 2025–2035 employment projections on August 27.

Here’s what caught my eye:

PHYSICAL THERAPISTS
283,700 jobs → 317,600
+12%

PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANTS
114,100 jobs → 140,400
+23%

For context, BLS projects employment across ALL occupations to grow about 3.5%.

PTA employment is projected to grow at nearly twice the rate of PT employment.

And BLS offers a clue as to why.

It specifically says healthcare providers, particularly in outpatient and long-term care, are expected to rely more on PTAs to help reduce the cost of physical therapy services.

Now, before we turn this into something it isn’t:

This DOES NOT prove that PTAs should replace PTs.

It doesn’t tell us the ideal PT:PTA ratio.

It doesn’t tell us which staffing model produces the best outcomes, economics, patient experience or clinician experience.

These are employment projections.

Not clinical recommendations.

But I think they expose a much more interesting question.

We spend a LOT of time asking:

“Do we have enough physical therapists?”

Maybe there’s another variable hiding in plain sight:

How should we DESIGN the physical therapy workforce?

PTs.
PTAs.
Technology.
Different scopes.
Different responsibilities.
Different ways of assembling the care team.

More demand for physical therapy services does not automatically mean the answer is simply “more PTs.”

Maybe headcount isn’t the most interesting variable.

Maybe team design is.

If we were building the physical therapy workforce from scratch today, would we organize it the same way we do now?

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released August 27, 2026.

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

This fit? 🤣 🍦

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

Only Pelvic PTs would understand…

09/06/2026

🤣 it’s the socks for me!