Physical therapy arrives: Popularity surges for varied reasons - The Boston Globe
..."Physical therapy is booming. We can't get them out of school fast enough. Hospitals are crying out for physical therapists all over the country," said Dr. Jeffrey B. Palmer , director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

Part of the growing demand is because the population is getting older and creakier. But much of it, particularly for problems like back pain, he said, "is the desire for conservative management."
Dr. Lyle Micheli , an orthopedic surgeon and director of sports medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, said he now sends 90 percent of patients "to physical therapy instead of surgery."

At the Spine Center at New England Baptist Hospital, Dr. Geno Martinez, who specializes in rehabilitation medicine, tells many patients that their back pain will improve if they get moving with the help of a physical therapist. Though some physicians still don't believe it, he said, "in reality, back pain, in general, is not a surgical condition."

For those with MS, said Palmer of Hopkins, physical therapy doesn't change the course of the disease, but it can help them move better within their limits.MORE - The Boston Globe