Occupational health faces a shortage of human resources and an established system is needed to promptly deal with older staff, mental health concerns, work productivity, and health promotion. In recent years, “physiotherapist” has been increasingly listed as a job category to be utilized for future roles in this field.

The Japanese Society of Physiotherapy in Occupational Health, formed in 2021, has been discovering good examples of fall and back related pain prevention and health promotion. Additionally, it has begun to accumulate academic knowledge and establish guidelines in occupational health. This review introduces new occupational health-activities by physiotherapists while elucidating the Japanese systems and expected roles.

In Japan, the proportion of older workers in the working population is rapidly increasing due to the aging of the population and the declining birthrate. Older workers have unique safety and health issues, and it is necessary to address these for them to work safely and securely. The authors believe that physical therapists who are specialists in rehabilitation can contribute to the safety and health of older workers. This paper describes how the expertise of physical therapists can be applied to the issues relating to the safety and health of older workers.