First-Contact Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Disorders

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who see patients with musculoskeletal complaints in primary care, orthopedics, emergency, urgent care, employee health, or direct-access settings, and who follow the evidence and policy conversation around first-contact physical therapy.

Licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in any practice setting; also useful for clinic managers and educators tracking direct access and scope-of-practice developments.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course is based on a single peer-reviewed publication and reports only what that publication found.

Abuhl B, Ehrmantraut D, Wolden M. First-Contact Physical Therapy Compared to Usual Primary Care for Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Physical Therapy. 2025;105:pzaf080. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association. Registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023485077).

Scope note

Nothing in this course is a practice directive. Where recommendations appear, they are the review authors’ own and are attributed to them. Scope of practice for imaging orders and prescribing differs by jurisdiction, and the trials in this review came from several countries with different rules.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe what the review defined as first-contact physical therapy and usual primary care, and who the pooled trials enrolled.
2. State the direction and the reported certainty of the review's findings for imaging referrals, prescription medication rates, cost, pain, disability, and health-related quality of life.
3. Explain the limits the authors placed on their conclusions, including the medium-term follow-up window and the mixed quality of the included trials.

1. Start Here: Course Overview, Audience, and Objectives
2. Podcast Lesson: First Contact — Physical Therapists as the Front Door for Musculoskeletal Care (about ten minutes)
3. Why First-Contact Physical Therapy Reached the Research Agenda
4. How the Reviewers Searched, Pooled, and Graded the Trials
5. Imaging, Prescriptions, and Cost: The Societal Findings
6. Pain, Disability, and Quality of Life: The Clinical Findings
7. Limits of the Evidence and What the Authors Concluded for Practice
8. Key Takeaways Before You Take the Quiz
9. Post-Test (5 questions, 80% to pass, retakes allowed) and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course is based on a single peer-reviewed publication and reports only what that publication found.
2. Abuhl B, Ehrmantraut D, Wolden M. First-Contact Physical Therapy Compared to Usual Primary Care for Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Physical Therapy. 2025;105:pzaf080. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association. Registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023485077).
3. Scope note
4. Nothing in this course is a practice directive. Where recommendations appear, they are the review authors’ own and are attributed to them. Scope of practice for imaging orders and prescribing differs by jurisdiction, and the trials in this review came from several countries with different rules.