Choose a physiotherapist or manual therapist according to your needs, relevant skills and availability for follow-up. You can contact a physiotherapist without a referral. Check approval to practise, language and payment for the particular appointment you book.
What is the difference between the practitioners?
A physiotherapist works with movement and function. A manuellterapeut, a manual therapist, has further skills in assessing and treating musculoskeletal problems. The title alone does not determine who suits you best.
Physiotherapists can work with different age groups and needs. Some have experience with children, older people, sport or rehabilitation after illness. Others work in specific areas. Helsenorge’s description of physiotherapy shows the range of services.
As of 13 October 2026, physiotherapists with approved authorisation as a manual therapist can refer patients to medical specialists and hospitals. They can also order certain imaging examinations. See Helsenorge’s information about physiotherapists.
This does not mean everyone needs a referral or imaging. The practitioner assesses the need. Choose based on relevant help and experience rather than wanting a particular examination.
SamfunnPrep also explains patient rights and complaints in Norway. You should receive information enabling you to take part in decisions about your own care.
Start with what you need help to do
Describe what is difficult in everyday life and what you want to achieve. This provides a better basis for choosing than searching for a single treatment method.
For example, you may want help returning to work, climbing stairs or following a plan from the hospital. Such a goal is a starting point for an assessment. It is not a diagnosis or promise of a result.
Prepare a short overview before contacting a practice:
- what you want help with;
- how long the difficulty has lasted;
- what follow-up you already receive;
- whether a doctor or hospital has prepared a plan;
- which language you need;
- when you can attend several appointments.
If you are unsure which service suits you, ask your fastlege, your regular GP, or the municipality. If you need a medical assessment, do not simply choose an appointment based on an online search. You do not need to know the correct specialist term to ask for help.
How do you find the right skills locally?
Search by municipality and your needs, then ask possible practitioners about relevant experience. The municipal website is an important starting point for municipal services and practitioners with operating agreements.
Use searches such as “fysioterapeut barn [municipality]”, for a children’s physiotherapist, or “manuellterapeut [location]”. Open the practices’ own websites. Find the practitioners’ names. A practice may have several professionals with different experience and agreements.
For a municipal service, contact the municipal service desk or health and care service. Ask which contact route applies to your needs. Helsenorge describes both municipally employed physiotherapists and physiotherapists with operating agreements.
For follow-up after hospital treatment, also ask the hospital who will take over. Request contact information and clarify whether you should book yourself. You can then avoid waiting for an invitation nobody has agreed to send.
Check authorisation and the specific appointment
Check both the professional approval and payment arrangement of the person you book with. These are two separate checks.
Helsepersonellregisteret (HPR) contains information about authorisation and licences. Authorisation means official approval to practise the profession. Ask for the HPR number and check the correct profession through Helsedirektoratet’s register service. Helsedirektoratet grants approval to health professionals. The service may require login.
For manual therapy, have the approval of the person who will treat you confirmed. Statens helsetilsyn describes the information in HPR. It is the health supervision authority. Ask for help checking if the register is difficult to use.
Public support for a privately practising physiotherapist requires both a municipal operating subsidy and direct settlement with Helfo. Helfo administers healthcare reimbursements. Check these agreements before starting, as Helsenorge recommends. A referral is not necessary to obtain covered physiotherapy.
Ask: “Does this practitioner have a municipal agreement and direct settlement with Helfo, and do they apply to the appointment offered to me?” Do not rely on the practice’s name alone.
Compare availability and follow-up
Choose a service that can provide the follow-up you need over time. The first available appointment is one point in the comparison.
| Point | What to clarify |
|---|---|
| First appointment | When can you attend, and how long does the assessment last? |
| Further appointments | Are there times fitting work, school and travel? |
| Continuity | Will you continue seeing the same practitioner? |
| Practical access | Are the room, equipment and access suitable for you? |
| Cooperation | How does the practitioner follow up a plan from other services? |
Ask whether individual treatment, a group or a combination is appropriate. The practitioner assesses what suits your needs. You can also explain practical circumstances that make a service difficult to use.
Clarify the price and what it includes. For an entirely private service, you pay yourself. Request information about possible extras, cancellation and any packages. This guide compares practitioners; it does not provide a table of public payment rates.
Clarify language and practical needs
Explain your language, functional abilities and any adjustments you need before the first meeting. The service can then assess what must be ready for the appointment.
Health professionals are responsible for assessing the need for a qualified interpreter. The health service books the interpreter when necessary, according to Helsenorge’s information about healthcare interpreting. Specify the language you need.
Ask for explanations you understand, including when something is demonstrated or practised. A demonstration alone is not always enough. Say if you need written points or more time for questions.
Ask what to bring. It could be a hospital plan or previous assessments. Use the secure channel the practice recommends when sending health information.
What should the initial assessment give you?
You should understand what the practitioner proposes, why and how follow-up will work. A concrete plan makes the working relationship easier to assess.
Ask for goals connecting the help to your everyday life. Ask when you will review progress and what happens if the plan does not suit you. It is useful to clarify what you are expected to do between appointments.
Agree who contacts a doctor or other services if needed. If several people provide follow-up, ask who brings the plan together. You can also ask for an explanation of what is recorded after the assessment.
SamfunnPrep has a guide to accessing patient records if you want to understand the documentation better.
Questions to use before booking
Send a short enquiry about skills, availability and agreements before sharing detailed information. Request a secure contact route for health information.
You could write: “I would like help with [brief need]. Do you have a practitioner with relevant experience? I need [language or adjustment]. What are the waiting time, payment arrangements and availability for further appointments?”
Use SamfunnPrep’s first-week checklist if you are still organising health contacts and digital services. Note the practitioner’s name and contact information once the arrangement is confirmed.
