Physiotherapist

Yes. "Physical therapist" is the American term, "physiotherapist" or "physio" the British one, and פיזיותרפיסט in Hebrew. The job is the same: restoring movement after an injury, surgery or illness, treating muscle and joint pain, therapeutic exercise and manual therapy. In Israel the profession is regulated and the title is protected.

Not privately: you book directly. Within your kupat holim, physiotherapy is covered on referral from a doctor (family doctor, orthopedist, neurologist), with a set number of sessions and sometimes a wait of several weeks. After surgery, sessions are usually prescribed by the surgeon.

The fee depends on the practitioner, the city, the length of the session and the type of care (rehabilitation, manual therapy, sports physio, home visit). On RofeBeClick every profile shows the session price before you book, with no service fee. Home visits are generally priced higher than clinic sessions.

The public basket covers physiotherapy in the fund's own centres, on medical referral. Supplementary plans (Clalit Mushlam, Maccabi Zahav, Meuhedet Adif, Leumit Zahav) often reimburse part of private sessions, up to a yearly number of sessions and under their conditions. Ask your fund before starting a course of treatment and keep the invoices.

A physiotherapist is the right choice for structured rehabilitation over time: after a fracture, a sprain, surgery (ligament, hip or knee replacement), a stroke, for chronic low back pain with an exercise programme, or for balance problems. Osteopaths and chiropractors mostly work with hands-on treatment over a few sessions. The three can complement each other; for persistent pain, start with a medical opinion that will point you in the right direction.

Spoken languages are shown on every RofeBeClick profile. The physiotherapy page is broken down by city (Tel Aviv, Netanya, Jerusalem, Herzliya, Ashdod and more) and the search has a language filter. In rehabilitation, sharing a language with your practitioner matters: you need to understand the exercises to repeat at home.

Some physiotherapists offer home sessions, useful after surgery, for elderly people or those with reduced mobility, or for infants. The consultation mode (clinic, home, video) is stated on the practitioner's profile when offered, and the search lets you filter for home visits.

There is no standard number: a simple sprain may need a few sessions, rehabilitation after a joint replacement or a cruciate ligament repair runs over several months. The physiotherapist sets goals at the first assessment and reviews them regularly. Current guidelines stress active exercise done by the patient between sessions more than the number of sessions itself.