Court Says DCs Can't Practice PT in Pennsylvania

Physical therapists in Pennsylvania, lead by the American Physical Therapy Association, have won a unanimous decision in prohibiting chiropractors in the state from advertising or representing themselves as providing physical therapy services.

The three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania based its decision on the state's Physical Therapy Practice Act, which prohibits a person representing that they practice physical therapy unless they are licensed under the act.

The decision overturns a Feb. 1997 decision by a hearing examiner who found that chiropractors did not violate Section IV of the state's Physical Therapy Practice Act by advertising that they perform physical therapy.