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Free physiotherapy SOAP note generator

Turn session shorthand into a physio SOAP note with pain scores, range of motion, special tests and a dosed home exercise programme, ready to copy into your notes.

Note type

Leave out names, personal ID numbers and other identifiers. Nothing you paste is saved.

How to use it

  1. 01

    Paste the subjective

    Pain score now and at last session, aggravating activities, sleep, and how the home exercises went.

  2. 02

    Add your measurements

    Active and passive ROM in degrees, strength grades, special tests and outcome measures, with previous values if you have them.

  3. 03

    List treatment and HEP

    What you did today and the exercises you prescribed with sets, reps and load. The draft keeps the numbers exactly as written.

What goes in a physiotherapy SOAP note?

Physiotherapists use SOAP notes to show measurable change between sessions. Compared with a general medical SOAP note, the Objective section carries more numbers (pain scales, range of motion, strength, special tests) and the note records the treatment given and the home exercise programme. Many payers look for this kind of objective progress when reviewing ongoing treatment, so check what your own payers require.

Subjective
Pain on a numeric rating scale (NPRS) at rest and at worst, function and aggravating activities, sleep, adherence to home exercises and the patient’s goals.
Objective
Active and passive ROM, strength (for example Oxford 0–5), special tests, palpation and outcome measures, with comparison to previous sessions or the other side.
Assessment
Your clinical impression and how the patient is responding: improving, plateaued or worse, and progress toward goals.
Treatment today
Manual therapy, exercise, education and other interventions delivered, with dosage and the patient’s response.
Plan
Home exercise programme with sets, reps and load, progression, functional goals with a time frame, and the next review.

Physiotherapy SOAP note example: rotator cuff related shoulder pain

Subjective

Session 3. 51-year-old woman with right shoulder pain for 6 weeks, aggravated by overhead reaching and lying on the right side. NPRS 6/10 at worst (previously 8/10), 2/10 at rest. Night pain reduced, now waking once a night. Home exercises completed most days.

Objective

Active ROM: flexion 150° (previously 130°), abduction 140° with painful arc 80–120°, external rotation 60° (left 75°). Passive ROM full. Resisted external rotation 4/5 and painful. Hawkins-Kennedy positive; empty can positive for pain without weakness; drop arm negative. Cervical screen clear.

Assessment

Rotator cuff related shoulder pain, improving: reduced pain, better flexion and less night pain since the last session.

Treatment today

Soft tissue massage to upper trapezius and posterior cuff. Isometric external rotation 5 × 45 s. Banded external and internal rotation 3 × 12 with yellow band. Scapular setting. Pain during exercise kept at or below 3/10.

Plan

Progress home exercise programme: add side-lying external rotation 3 × 10 with 0.5 kg; continue isometrics daily. Review in 1 week. Goal: reach the top shelf without pain within 4 weeks.

Need the diagnosis code too? Search ICD-10-CM codes

Tips for physiotherapy SOAP notes

  • Always pair a measurement with its previous value or the other side (“ER 60°, L 75°”); a single number shows nothing about progress.
  • Name the outcome measure you used (NPRS, PSFS, Oswestry, QuickDASH) and repeat it at regular intervals.
  • Document special tests as positive or negative and what reproduced the symptoms, not just the test name.
  • Write every home exercise with sets, reps, load or band colour, and frequency so it can be progressed later.
  • Make goals functional and time-bound (“reach top shelf pain-free in 4 weeks”) and refer back to them in the Assessment.

Frequently asked questions

How is a physio SOAP note different from a medical SOAP note?

The structure is the same, but the Objective section is far more quantitative, and physio notes usually record the treatment delivered and the home exercise programme. This tool adds a “Treatment today” section for that.

Will it keep my ROM and pain numbers exactly?

It is instructed to keep degrees, scores, sets, reps and loads exactly as written and to mark anything missing “Not documented”. Check the numbers before saving the note.

Can I use it for initial assessments?

It works best for follow-up sessions. For an initial assessment, paste the full history and baseline measurements; the draft will still sort them into SOAP sections.

Is it free?

Yes. You can write up to 10 notes a day without an account.

Is it safe to paste patient information?

Paste clinical details only, never names, ID numbers or contact details. The text is sent to our AI provider to write the note and is not saved by Docdemic.