When someone wakes up with back pain, tweaks a shoulder, or feels an old knee injury flare up, the first stop is often no longer a doctor’s office or physical therapy clinic. Increasingly, it is TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube.
A quick search can produce thousands of videos promising stretches, strengthening routines, mobility drills, or “fixes” for pain. Some of that content can be useful. Some can motivate people to move more, pay attention to their bodies, and take nagging issues seriously. But for Dr. Chuck Thipgen, Chief Clinical and Strategy Officer at ATI Physical Therapy, the rise of social media rehab advice also exposes a growing challenge for patients: knowing when general guidance is helpful and when it becomes risky.
ATI Physical Therapy is marking its 30th anniversary at a time when musculoskeletal care is changing rapidly. Patients want convenience, speed, and clarity. They also need individualized care that cannot always be delivered through a short video.
“When people are in pain, they want help now,” Thipgen says. “That is one of the clearest lessons I’ve learned over three decades in musculoskeletal care.”
Why Patients Search Online First
The appeal of social media is easy to understand. Pain can be disruptive, frustrating, and immediate. A person whose shoulder pain is affecting sleep or whose back pain is limiting work may not want to wait for an appointment before looking for answers.
“Whether it’s back pain, a sports injury, or a shoulder problem that is affecting sleep, most people are looking for answers in the moment,” Thipgen explains. “Social media meets that need. It is immediate, accessible, and easy to understand.”
That accessibility can be empowering, especially for people who might otherwise ignore pain or assume they have no options. But the same qualities that make social platforms appealing can also make them difficult to navigate. A confident creator, polished video, or large audience does not necessarily mean the advice is clinically sound.
“The challenge is that consumers often have no reliable way to distinguish evidence-based guidance from content that simply sounds convincing,” Thipgen notes. “A large following does not necessarily mean clinical expertise. As healthcare providers, we need to make expert musculoskeletal care easier to access and easier to navigate.”
The Upside of Movement Content
Thipgen does not dismiss social media’s value. In some cases, it can serve as a useful entry point. Short videos have helped bring more attention to mobility, strength, posture, recovery, and injury prevention. They can also encourage people to address issues they have been tolerating for too long.
“There are real benefits,” Thipgen says. “Social media has helped bring greater attention to movement, mobility, strength, injury prevention, and recovery. If a video encourages someone to become more active or address a problem they have been ignoring, that can be a positive step.”
The value of social media is best understood as a doorway, not a diagnosis. A short video can raise awareness, demonstrate a basic movement, or prompt someone to take pain more seriously. But once symptoms persist, worsen, or interfere with daily life, the question becomes more individualized than any general post can answer.
“General education has value,” Thipgen adds. “Physical Therapy is different. A video can introduce an idea, but it cannot evaluate why someone is having pain, determine whether a particular approach is appropriate, or adjust a plan as recovery progresses.”
When Symptoms Are Not the Whole Story
The biggest risk of DIY rehab advice is that it often treats symptoms as if they tell the full story. Online content is commonly organized around familiar complaints: low back pain, hip tightness, shoulder pain, knee pain, or sciatica. But two people with similar symptoms may need very different care.
“The biggest risk is assuming symptoms are the same as a diagnosis,” Thipgen says. “Two people can describe nearly identical pain and require very different treatment plans.”
That is where the training of a physical therapist matters. Clinicians evaluate movement, identify contributing factors, and determine whether a condition can be managed through physical therapy or requires another level of medical attention.
“An exercise that helps one person may aggravate another,” Thipgen explains. “Physical therapists are trained to evaluate movement, identify contributing factors, screen for medical concerns, and determine the most appropriate course of care.”
This screening role is often invisible in online content because social media tends to begin with a solution. Clinical care begins with a question.
“Some conditions that appear to be routine musculoskeletal problems require a different level of medical attention,” Thipgen continues. “Online content usually starts with ‘try this exercise.’ A clinician starts with a different question: ‘What are the factors that are causing the pain being experienced by this person?’”
What One Exercise Cannot Do
Rehabilitation also depends on timing, progression, and response. The right approach at the beginning of recovery may not be the right approach two weeks later, and a plan may need to include strengthening, mobility work, education, activity modification, movement retraining, or hands-on care.
“Effective musculoskeletal care is rarely built around a single exercise,” Thipgen says. “It is built around a plan that evolves as the patient progresses toward their goals.”
Manual therapy can also play a role when it is used to support a broader recovery plan rather than replace active rehabilitation.
“Sometimes the right next step is exercise,” he explains. “Sometimes it is education, activity modification, movement retraining, or hands-on care. Hands on care like manual therapy can play an important role when it helps reduce pain, improve mobility, and make therapeutic exercise more effective.”
The key is knowing what a patient needs at a specific point in recovery and how to adjust when the response changes.
“The question is not simply what exercise someone should do,” Thipgen notes. “It is what that individual needs today, how they are responding, and when the plan should change.”
When to Seek Professional Help
For patients trying to evaluate online advice, Thipgen recommends caution around content that promises too much or treats every body the same.
“Be cautious of anyone promising an instant fix or suggesting one exercise works for everyone,” he notes. “Credentials matter. Clinical training matters.”
Time can also be a useful guide. A minor issue may improve with activity modification, basic movement, and self-care. But pain that persists or worsens should not be left to an algorithm.
“If pain is not improving after two to three weeks of activity modification, basic exercises, or self-care, or if symptoms are worsening, it is time to seek evaluation from a healthcare professional,” Thipgen explains.
Earlier access to physical therapy can also reduce the need for more intensive downstream care.
“One of the most consistent findings in musculoskeletal research is that earlier access to appropriate care improves outcomes,” he adds. “Studies published by ATI and others have shown that early physical therapy can reduce unnecessary imaging, physician visits, injections, and even surgery for many musculoskeletal conditions.”
Physical Therapy Beyond the Clinic
As ATI celebrates 30 years, Thipgen sees access as one of the most important changes in the profession. Physical therapy is no longer limited to scheduled visits inside a clinic.
“The biggest change is access,” he says. “Thirty years ago, care was only tied to scheduled clinic visits. Today, musculoskeletal care extends across many settings.”
That includes in-person care, virtual visits, remote monitoring, digital tools, workplace health programs, and athletic training. The goal is not to replace the clinician, but to keep patients connected throughout recovery.
“Recovery does not happen only during appointments,” Thipgen says. “It happens at home, at work, on the field, and throughout daily life.”
That distinction also explains how ATI views its digital tools compared with social media content. The difference is not simply that one is online and one is clinical. It is whether the technology is connected to a licensed professional’s evaluation and oversight.
“The difference is clinical oversight,” Thipgen says. “Social media delivers general information. ATI’s digital tools are connected to a plan of care developed and overseen by a licensed physical therapist.”
For Thipgen, the future of musculoskeletal care depends on combining convenience with expertise. Patients may begin their search online, but lasting recovery often requires guidance that is individualized, monitored, and adjusted over time.
“Convenient, high-quality access to care matters,” he says. “When patients connect with musculoskeletal expertise early, they tend to recover faster, avoid unnecessary downstream care, and achieve better outcomes.”
Social media may continue to influence how people think about pain and movement. But the next step for healthcare is making trusted care just as accessible as the content patients already find on their phones.
“The goal is straightforward,” Thipgen says. “Help patients get the right care, at the right time, in the right setting.”
For more information, visit www.atipt.com.
Daniel Casciato is a seasoned healthcare writer, publisher, and product reviewer with two decades of experience. He founded Healthcare Business Today to deliver timely insights on healthcare trends, technology, and innovation. His bylines have appeared in outlets such as Cleveland Clinic’s Health Essentials, MedEsthetics Magazine, EMS World, Pittsburgh Business Times, Post-Gazette, Providence Journal, Western PA Healthcare News, and he has written for clients like the American Heart Association, Google Earth, and Southwest Airlines. Through Healthcare Business Today, Daniel continues to inform and inspire professionals across the healthcare landscape.
