10 free, exam-style National Physical Therapist Examination (NPTE) (NPTE) practice questions with answers and explanations. No signup required. Work through them below, then take the full free NPTE practice test to study every exam domain.
The NPTE exam has 225 questions and runs 5 hours.
These 10 free NPTE questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the National Physical Therapist Examination (NPTE) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A patient reports anterior knee pain after a hyperextension injury during basketball. The therapist stabilizes the femur, flexes the knee to roughly 25 degrees, and applies an anterior force to the proximal tibia, noting increased forward translation with a soft end-feel compared with the uninvolved side. This finding MOST strongly implicates injury to the:
Correct answer: A - Anterior cruciate ligament
A patient is 4 weeks status post total hip arthroplasty performed through a posterior approach. While reviewing positions to avoid, the therapist should specifically caution the patient AGAINST:
Correct answer: D - Flexing the hip past 90 degrees with internal rotation
A 52-year-old reports insidious shoulder pain with progressive stiffness. On examination, both active and passive motion are limited, with external rotation the most restricted, followed by abduction, then internal rotation. These findings BEST support a diagnosis of:
Correct answer: B - Adhesive capsulitis
A therapist applies a grade V mobilization to a patient's lumbar spine. Compared with grades I through IV, a grade V technique is BEST described as a:
Correct answer: C - High-velocity, low-amplitude thrust beyond the pathological limit
A patient sustained a knife wound to the spinal cord and now presents with loss of motor function and proprioception on the same side as the lesion, with loss of pain and temperature sensation on the opposite side, below the level of injury. This presentation is characteristic of:
Correct answer: D - Brown-Sequard syndrome
A therapist is retraining a reaching movement in a patient recovering from a stroke and currently gives detailed feedback after every single repetition. To promote long-term retention rather than dependence on the therapist's input, the BEST adjustment is to:
Correct answer: A - Provide feedback on a faded, intermittent schedule
A patient scores 38 out of a possible 56 points on the Berg Balance Scale. Based on this result, the therapist should document that the patient:
Correct answer: C - Is at increased risk for falls
A patient with a complete spinal cord injury is classified as ASIA A. When explaining this classification to the family, the therapist should describe it as:
Correct answer: B - No motor or sensory function preserved in the lowest sacral segments (S4-S5)
A patient in phase I (inpatient) cardiac rehabilitation is ambulating in the hallway 2 days after a myocardial infarction. During the walk the patient develops new chest pain and the systolic blood pressure falls 12 mmHg below the resting value. The therapist's FIRST action should be to:
Correct answer: D - Stop the activity and assess the patient
A therapist wants to set an aerobic training intensity using the Karvonen (heart rate reserve) method. Besides the patient's age-predicted maximum heart rate, this method specifically requires the patient's:
Correct answer: A - Resting heart rate
The NPTE exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
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