Glossary
Florida Physical Therapy Glossary
A working vocabulary for Florida auto-accident physical therapy. Definitions are written for patients and for the physicians and discharge planners who guide them. Each entry is short, accurate, and grounded in current Florida statute or standard practice.
MMIMaximum Medical Improvement
- The point at which a patient's injuries have stabilized and further treatment is unlikely to produce meaningful improvement. MMI is a clinical determination by the treating provider. In PI cases, MMI usually signals readiness for discharge and demand-package preparation.
UM/UIMUninsured / Underinsured Motorist
- Optional Florida coverage that pays the insured driver if they're hit by a driver with no liability insurance (UM) or with too little to cover the damages (UIM). With more than one in four Florida crashes involving a hit-and-run, UM/UIM is often the only available recovery source.
MVAMotor Vehicle Accident
- The standard clinical and billing abbreviation for a motor-vehicle accident. Post-MVA care refers to evaluation and treatment following any collision involving a car, truck, motorcycle, or commercial vehicle.
ICD-10
- The diagnostic coding system used in U.S. healthcare billing. Each PT diagnosis is captured with an ICD-10 code that ties the treatment to a specific injury (for example, cervical sprain, lumbar disc displacement, post-concussive syndrome). Accurate ICD-10 coding is critical to getting care reimbursed.
CPT CodesCurrent Procedural Terminology
- Standardized billing codes that describe each PT service delivered during a visit — for example, 97140 for manual therapy or 97110 for therapeutic exercise. Carriers review CPT coding closely when auditing a treatment course.
Plan of Care
- The written treatment program a physical therapist creates after the initial evaluation. It lists the patient's diagnoses, goals, frequency and duration of visits, and specific interventions. Florida law and most payers require the plan of care to be reviewed and updated at regular intervals.
Manual Therapy
- Hands-on PT techniques — soft-tissue mobilization, joint mobilization, myofascial release — used to reduce pain and restore movement. Manual therapy is a core component of after a crash care for cervical-spine and lumbar injuries.
Neuromuscular Re-education
- PT interventions that retrain the nervous system's control of movement, balance, and posture. Common in post-concussive cases and in patients with persistent guarded movement after a crash. Billed under CPT 97112.
WhiplashWhiplash-Associated Disorder
- A neck injury caused by rapid back-and-forth movement of the head, most often from a rear-end collision. Symptoms include neck pain, stiffness, headaches, and reduced range of motion. Early active PT consistently outperforms rest or prolonged immobilization for whiplash recovery.
HB 837
- A 2023 Florida statute that reduced the statute of limitations for most personal-injury lawsuits from four years to two years, along with other tort-reform changes. The shorter window makes early documentation of injury and treatment more important than it used to be.
Need help applying these to a specific case?
Our intake team confirms auto insurance coverage, identifies the responsible carrier, and schedules the in-home evaluation during the referral call.