Many terms in the area of medicine are extremely long and painstaking to write out in their full form. The field of physical therapy is no expection and as a result, general practitioners (GP’s) and physical therapists (PT’s) employ a broad selection of physical therapy abbreviations and symbols. But what do those abbreviations stand for? It can be quite difficult to guess, especially if the term is outside your area of direct specialty.
Physical Therapy is a very popular field of medicine – but does it work? Medical research shows that this branch of medicine might even have applications in areas we traditionally would not associate with physical therapy. For example, a recent meta-analysis by Ruiz‐González et al. (2019) in the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research looked at physical therapy interventions for patients with Down syndrome. They concluded:
“The results show the potential benefit of certain types of physical therapy interventions, specifically in strength and balance, in people with Down syndrome. There are still many aspects to clarify and new lines of research.”
The use of physical therapy abbreviations and symbols helps streamline this research, but runs the risk of confusing medical personnel and causing fatal errors. A report in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) entitled To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System showed that over one million injuries and almost 100,000 deaths were due to errors made in the medical system. This report was released many years ago, and many steps have been taken to deal with its worrying findings. There is no doubt that when dealing with abbreviations for physical therapy, it’s best to know what abbreviations you’re using or reading about. Otherwise, you could send your patient on a completely pointless path where they are doing all the wrong exercises, and you don’t realize until it’s too late when their spine is shot!
There are several categories of physical therapy abbreviations. There are Exercise & Treatment Abbreviations, Abbreviations for PT Assistive Devices & Equipment, Exercise & Treatment Abbreviations, Body & Diagnosis Abbreviations, and much more. All of them could be useful for you in your practice.
So without further ado, here is a list of physical therapy abbreviations that might come in handy for you.
Abbreviation and What it stands for
| ā | before |
| AAROM | active assistive range of motion |
| Abd | abduction |
| ACJ | acromioclavicular joint |
| ACL | anterior cruciate ligament |
| Add | adduction |
| ADL | activities of daily living |
| AFO | ankle foot orthosis |
| AKA | above knee amputation |
| Amb | ambulation |
| AROM | active range of motion |
| B | bilateral |
| BID | twice a day |
| BKA | below knee amputation |
| C | with |
| CGA | contact guard assist |
| CKC | closed kinetic chain |
| CP | cold pack |
| CPM | continuous passive motion |
| CTx | cervical traction |
| DJD | degenerative disc disease |
| DF | dorsiflexion |
| E Stim | electrical stimulation |
| ER | external rotation |
| Ex | exercise |
| Ev | eversion |
| Flex | flexion |
| FIM score | functional independence level |
| FWB | full weight bearing |
| Fx | fracture |
| GHJ | glenohumeral joint |
| HEP | home exercise program |
| H/o | history of |
| HOB | head of bed |
| HP | hot packs |
| HVGS | high voltage galvantic stimulation |
| Hx | history |
| I | independent |
| Inv | inversion |
| IR | internal rotation |
| ITB | iliotibial band |
| KAFO | knee ankle foot orthosis |
| LAQ | long arc quad |
| LBQC | large base quad cane |
| LCL | lateral collateral ligament |
| LE | lower extremity |
| LTG | long term goals |
| MCL | medial collateral ligament |
| MFR | myofascial release |
| Mm | muscle |
| MMT | manual muscle test |
| Mobs | mobilization |
| NWB | non weight bearing |
| NDT | neuro developmental technique |
| OKC | open kinetic chain |
| PCL | posterior cruciate ligament |
| PF | plantar flexion |
| PFS | patellofemoral syndrome |
| PNF | proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation |
| PMHx | past medical history |
| Pro | pronation |
| PROM | passive range of motion |
| PT | physical therapist |
| PTA | physical therapy assistant |
| PWB | partial weight bearing |
| Q | every |
| QC | quad cane |
| QD | every day |
| QID | four times a day |
| RICE | rest,ice,compression,elevation ROM- range of motion |
| Rot | rotation |
| Rx | treatment |
| SAC | short arc quad |
| SB | side bending |
| SBA | stand by assist |
| SBQC | small base quad cane |
| SC | straight cane |
| SLR | straight leg raise |
| STM | soft tissue mobilization |
| Sup | supination |
| TENS | transcutaneous electrical stimulation |
| THA | total hip arthroplasty |
| Ther Ex | therapeutic exercise |
| TID | three times a day |
| TKA | total knee arthroplasty |
| TLSO | thoracic lumbar sacral orthosis |
| TTWB | toe touch weight bearing |
| UE | upper extremity |
| US | ultra sound |
| W/c | wheel chair |
| WFL | within functional limit |
| WNL | within normal limits |
So, did you know that HEP stood for “Home Exercise Program”? Well, now you do! We hope that this list of medical abbreviations for physical therapy was helpful for you. If you are an aspiring Physical Therapist (PT), you might enjoy this graphic:
