Did you just get finished with an excruciating period of physical therapy? Are you slowly beginning to make progress? Or do you have a spouse whose job it is to whip patients into shape? There are many reasons to find the perfect gift for the physical therapist in your life, whether they helped you overcome medical challenges or you just want to show your appreciation for their presence. Physical therapists are accustomed to facing the wrath of patients, so it’s always a good idea to make sure they keep their head held high, even when times are tough. No one goes into this kind of profession in the hopes of striking it rich; they do it because they have a calling to serve others. Show them that they’ve made a real difference by putting thought and meaning into a great gift – be it for Christmas, their birthday, or for any other occasion.

If you’re having difficulty finding relevant gifts for your favorite physical therapist, we’ve collected eight of our favorite ideas. Read on, and get the inspiration you need to make their day a little brighter!

8 – Personalized Travel Mug

We suppose you could say this about many professionals, but the physical therapists we know practically LIVE for caffeine. Unfortunately, when your job entails being on the go for most of the day, it’s not easy to keep a cup of coffee as hot and prepared as you would like it. Every time you turn around, the coffee’s gone cold, which means searching for the nearest microwave. Or worse, you find yourself spilling coffee three or four times a day. With a personalized travel mug, these problems can be relegated to the past.

7 – Motivational Posters

Posters are a staple of the physical therapist’s office, but chances are good that the ones on the wall have been there for a while. Why not help the PT specialist in your life change things up a bit? Everyone gets sick of looking at the same decorations, year after year, and if there’s one thing that there’s no shortage of, it’s motivational posters. Pick out one or two that speak to the profession. Not only will they serve as excellent inspiration for the patients who come in and out of the office, they can help remind the pro why they chose the line of work they’re in. Even the most selfless of us need that kind of reminder every now and then!

6 – Professional Nameplate

Physical therapists, as a rule, do not spend a lot of their time sitting behind a desk. But even the busiest, most active PT professionals will need to do paperwork from time to time, and they will want their office to look sharp. With a good nameplate, they can turn “an” office into “their” office, which makes all the difference.

5 – Bamboo Cutting Board

Most of the physical therapists we know understand that while lifting, exercising, and cardio are essential to keeping a body fit, the real work is done in the kitchen. And whether you’re cutting meats, chopping vegetables, or dicing peppers, you need a good cutting board at your disposal. But does a cutting board make for a nice gift? It does when it looks as cute and delightful as one of these bamboo, engraved varieties! With “Home Sweet Home” on the surface, this board will be a perfect kitchen addition for the physical therapist who knows their way around a yummy meal.

4 – Personalized Gift Basket

Why narrow down your gift choices when you can put together a basket filled with all of the luxuries and goodies that a physical therapist could want? The great thing about a personalized gift basket is that you can put anything you want into the present. Gift cards, colored compression gauze, scented lotions, essential oils, you name it. You can get as creative as you want, because the gift’s success won’t depend on any one piece of the puzzle! Plus, if you don’t feel like pulling all of the gifts together yourself, you can purchase a ready-made basket from one of the recipient’s favorite stores.

3 – Customized Wooden Name Sign

We love this wooden name sign so much, we just had to include it on the list. It may not be specific to a physical therapist, but the depiction of the courageous lion makes it a fitting gift, nonetheless. If you’ve ever had to endure the misery of physical therapy, you will know that it takes the heart of a lion to see it through to the end. And a good physical therapist is there to not only push you in the right direction but also to push you past your limits. We can’t think of a better animal than the lion to symbolize what it takes for both patient and therapist to exceed those boundaries every single day.

2 – Gratitude Candle

There are a million ways to say “thank you,” and how you show your gratitude should be tailored to the interests and personality of the individual in question. If your physical therapist enjoys candles, you might want to take the simple approach. You can easily find endless examples of candles expressing gratitude on the label, so choose one that speaks to their spirit – and, by extension, your own.

1 – Monogrammed Notebook

It takes a great deal of accredited education to become a physical therapist, but any professional will tell you that the most important learning happens every day in the field. There’s no substitute for experience. For that reason, many physical therapists will keep detailed notes on their patients, which translates into a better understanding of their particular cases – as well as a more generalized understanding of best practices. With this handsome monogrammed notebook, the physical therapist in your life will be primed and ready to take all the notes they need to become the best they can be.