The Ukrainian Congress on Physical Therapy 2025 “Best Practices for Advancing Physical Therapy in Wartime and Post-War Periods” was held on September 12–13. Together with over 400 participants — physical therapists, Ukrainian and international experts, representatives of state institutions, public organizations, patient and veteran communities — we worked to develop high-quality and accessible rehabilitation in Ukraine.
This is the third National Congress on Physical Therapy.
A statement was prepared based on the results of the congress. Its text is provided below.
Best Practices for Advancing Physical Therapy in Wartime and Post-War Periods
This year, the Ukrainian Congress on Physical Therapy 2025 focused on sustainable changes in the field of rehabilitation and the role of professional communities in creating them. Speakers and participants analyzed the functioning of the rehabilitation system during the years of russia’s war against Ukraine, identified challenges in the rehabilitation of defenders, and formulated tasks for the development of physical therapy in Ukraine and the professional development of physical therapists.
Consistency of approaches and international cooperation
Rehabilitation and physical therapy as its integral part is a topical issue that is widely discussed. We see significant international support in this area, considerable resources involved, and numerous initiatives and projects aimed at changing and developing the system. However, now more than ever, it is important that any activities focus on sustainable change. Rapid response humanitarian initiatives were an important step at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. In the fourth year of the war, it is time to focus on sustainability in the national context.
As a community of physical therapists, we feel responsible and motivated to choose the best approaches for Ukraine. We have been developing rehabilitation and physical therapy in Ukraine even when there was little attention or support. And we will continue to do so, even if the focus of international support shifts. After all, we are here for Ukrainian patients, Ukrainian defenders, and veterans.
Therefore, it is the Ukrainian community of experts that should become a kind of filter in cooperation with international partners and implement only relevant models, adapting them to the Ukrainian context. We definitely have the capacity to ensure sustainable change and the ability to be a partner for international organisations or the Government of Ukraine, with our own voice.
Ukraine already has strong expertise in certain areas of rehabilitation. At the same time, we are well aware of our areas for development and the need to draw on international expertise. Here, it is important to maintain consistency in our approaches so that expertise remains in the country. This is possible and worthwhile through the training of trainers.
Areas of development
This year, the community paid special attention to physical therapy in intensive care. For almost two years, significant efforts have been made to train Ukrainian physical therapists to work in intensive care, and this year, specialists shared the results of their work in the ICU and the positive changes that this work brings to patients. We see a need to develop this area in Ukraine, so an important step will be to develop a strategy and implement it in the acute rehabilitation period as part of healthcare services.
Another important area is physical therapy in pediatrics. Here, the community recognizes the need for continuous rehabilitation care for children—from birth to active life in the community. It is important here to ensure interaction between the field of rehabilitation and related fields, in particular inclusive education, the provision of assistive rehabilitation devices, etc. It is also important to start introducing functional assessment tools in pediatric rehabilitation and to improve follow-up observation by involving rehabilitation specialists in the process.
Rehabilitation and physical therapy in oncology is an emerging area of discussion and development in Ukraine.
Alongside relatively new areas, discussions continued on ortho- and neurorehabilitation, the need to develop rehabilitation at the community level, in particular through interdisciplinary cooperation and the introduction of single-service provision, as well as the importance of continuity in the rehabilitation process. The issue of accessibility was also addressed.
Recovery from strokes, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries remains one of the greatest challenges for the healthcare system. Neurorehabilitation helps patients recover motor and cognitive functions, relearn basic activities, and sometimes literally get back on their feet. Its development requires modern protocols, functional assessment tools, and patient access to specialized teams in each region.
In terms of rehabilitation, prosthetics-orthotics and the provision and effective use of rehabilitation aids by patients remain an important area that needs to be actively developed. After all, the quality of these services directly affects a person’s level of independence, functionality, and ability to return to normal life. The community’s task is to improve the quality of services, develop modern technologies, and form a network of specialists who help people adapt to a new way of life.
The effectiveness of any rehabilitation is negated if a person returns to an environment where there are no zero-level curbs, wide doorways, or ramps that can be used. These are not just elements of the urban environment; they are opportunities to learn, work, relax, and remain part of society as a whole. Therefore, the development of barrier-free spaces is an important condition for people’s recovery.
The community plays an important role here in ensuring a barrier-free environment, opportunities to work, receive quality rehabilitation, social, and educational services in the community, opportunities to obtain assistive rehabilitation devices, etc. The key task here is to create the conditions for interaction and cooperation between these areas.
Quality of services and staff development
The event focused heavily on issues related to the quality of rehabilitation care and human resources. The Ukrainian Physical Therapists Association (UPTA) supports the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) in its need to maintain requirements for a certain number of specialists for contracting and payment for rehabilitation care services provided under the Medical Guarantees Program. We urge that these requirements not be lowered, as this would negatively impact the ability to provide rehabilitation care to patients.
The professional community agrees with the NHSU’s reservations regarding the suboptimal use of the rehabilitation network (when patients who do not need it are in rehabilitation hospitals). To change this, it is extremely important to introduce functional assessment tools in adult rehabilitation. These will enable the correct routing of patients and the assessment of rehabilitation outcomes.
The problems of proper routing and quality control of rehabilitation care cannot be solved without the introduction of clinical guidelines and standards for the provision of rehabilitation care. Members of the Ukrainian Physical Therapists Association are actively involved in their development, initiated by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The first clinical guideline and standard for spinal cord injury is already under public discussion.
The issue of community leadership and personal leadership is also important. UPTA systematically supports the development of leadership among physical therapists—not only in terms of managing the work of rehabilitation departments, but also in other forms of personal development, initiative, and career growth.
Therefore, ensuring the sustainability of approaches, the capacity of the system, and the development of specialists’ competencies are key tasks for the professional community. Physical therapy and rehabilitation must be high-quality, free of charge, and accessible in Ukraine, and we are actively moving toward this goal. It is important to build and develop the rehabilitation and prosthetics services that are guaranteed and provided by the state.
The Ukrainian Physical Therapists Association and partners of the CF “Patients of Ukraine” are always ready to support you in this.
The Ukrainian Congress on Physical Therapy 2025 is organized by the NGO “Ukrainian Physical Therapists Association” jointly with the “War Trauma Rehabilitation in Ukraine” initiative, implemented by the CF “Patients of Ukraine”, with the support of the World Health Organization Ukraine and the European Union, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the CF “Zaporuka”, the Soleterre organization, the Institute of Vertebrology and Rehabilitation, and the Ukrainian-Norwegian rehabilitation project Sunnaas Sykehus HF, with the assistance of Tetiana Lomakina, Adviser-commissioner of the President of Ukraine on Accessibility Issues, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and the National Health Service of Ukraine.
Partners: Physiopedia, Coventry University, Active Rehabilitation Group, Lviv Regional Clinical Perinatal Center, and Lviv Medical Academy named after Andrey Krupinsky.
