Not medical advice. This guide is general purchasing information only.
Short answer: A physical therapy clinic's supply list falls into five buckets — modalities (cold therapy wraps, TENS electrodes), rehab disposables (therapy bands and putty, elastic adhesive bandages), immobilizers (over-the-counter splints and braces), casting consumables (Scotchcast tape, Gypsona splints, Delta-Net stockinette and roll padding), and the office layer (gloves, surface wipes, hand sanitizer). New clinics should buy one bucket at a time; re-stock orders should track patient volume per consumable line, not total spend.
The five-bucket PT supply checklist
| Bucket | What lives here (items we stock) | New clinic | Re-stock trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Modalities | Active Ice knee cold therapy wrap, 12 x 13 in; ValuTrode neurostimulation electrodes for TENS units, 2 x 2 in | Buy early — reusables and electrode pads anchor a modality cart | Electrode pads are per-patient consumables; check weekly |
| 2. Rehab disposables | TensoPlast elastic adhesive bandage, 1–4 in x 5 yd (BSN); therapy bands and putty — ask us about therapy bands and putty | Stock the width range, not one width | Fastest-moving line in most PT clinics; re-order before the shelf is empty |
| 3. Immobilizers | Ready-made splints and braces — browse Splints & Braces for the ready-made options; clinics that fabricate instead buy bucket 4 | Only if your clinicians immobilize in-house; otherwise refer out and skip this bucket | Low turnover for ready-made units; buy on demand, not on cadence |
| 4. Casting consumables | 3M Scotchcast Plus fiberglass casting tape (2/3/4 in x 4 yd); Gypsona S plaster cast splint, 5 x 30 in; Delta-Net black synthetic compression stockinette, 3 in x 25 yd; McKesson white polyester cast padding, 4 in x 4 yd; 3M Undercast Padding, 6 in x 4 yd | Buy tape, splints, stockinette and padding together — you cannot apply one without the others | Rolls go fastest because they are under every immobilization; plaster vs fiberglass changes storage, not order cadence |
| 5. Office layer | McKesson Vinyl Exam Gloves (Large, Clear) — boxes of 100; Clorox Healthcare VersaSure surface disinfectant wipes, 150-count canister; GOJO Purell hand sanitizer (800 mL and 4 oz sizes) | Order in the first week — every clinician touches these daily | Glove consumption scales with patient count; wipe canisters with treatment-room turnover |
How to choose what to buy first
New clinic: fund buckets 1, 2 and 5 first — modalities, bandages and the office layer cover the majority of a typical PT visit. Add buckets 3 and 4 (Scotchcast and Gypsona with Delta-Net stockinette and roll padding) only if your clinicians actually apply splints or casts; casting tape and plaster splints sit unused in clinics that refer immobilization out. Start the width range — TensoPlast across its 1–4 in widths; Scotchcast Plus at 2, 3 and 4 in — then let three months of usage tell you which widths to double-order.
Re-stock: count consumption per line, not spend per order. A simple method: put painter's tape on each box of gloves and each padding case when it is opened and write the date; when two open units of the same line sit on the shelf at once, your reorder point is too high and you are buying inventory, not supplies. Electrode pads and bandages should never be backordered on a patient's account — these are the two lines that stop a scheduled session when the shelf is bare. A common planning cadence is to re-order a consumable line at roughly two weeks of open stock; tune it to your own counts before locking a standing order.
Storage changes what you buy: plaster splints (Gypsona) are humidity-sensitive and should be ordered closer to use, while fiberglass tape (Scotchcast Plus), stockinette and polyester padding tolerate normal clinic storage better. If your back room runs humid, that fact should push your mix toward fiberglass and synthetic consumables and shrink your plaster on-hand — see the fiberglass-vs-plaster guide linked below for the full trade-off.
Startup cost ranges: we are not publishing dollar ranges for a new clinic in this guide, since package pricing depends on case quantities. Request a quote through For Businesses instead, and confirm lead times per line before opening day: stocked items ship in 2–5 business days and special-order items in 2–4 weeks.
What we stock
Most items named in the checklist above are stocked in our catalog; ask us about therapy bands and putty. Browse the buckets at Physical Therapy supplies and Rehab clinic supplies; immobilizers and their consumables sit under Splints & Braces, bandages under Bandages & Dressings, gloves under Exam Gloves, and wipes and sanitizers under Cleaners & Disinfectants.
For the deeper decisions behind buckets 3 and 4, our three casting guides cover fiberglass vs plaster (Fiberglass vs Plaster Casting), tape width selection (Casting Tape Sizes) and stockinette and padding choice (Stockinette and Cast Padding). Setup, invoicing and volume ordering for a clinic of any size is handled through For Businesses.
FAQs
Q: Does a PT clinic need cold wraps and electrodes on day one?
A: If modalities are part of your treatment model, yes — the Active Ice knee cold therapy wrap (12 x 13 in per the label) and 2 x 2 in ValuTrode TENS electrodes are the two most common starter SKUs. The electrode pads are consumables, so budget for repeat orders, not a one-time purchase.
Q: Do you carry therapy bands and putty for the rehab-disposable bucket?
A: Elastic adhesive bandage (TensoPlast, 1–4 in widths) is stocked today; ask us about therapy bands and putty. Check the physical therapy collection or ask through For Businesses before you build a rehab-cart list around those lines.
Q: Which stockinette widths do you carry?
A: We list Delta-Net black synthetic compression stockinette in 3 in x 25 yd today; the full stocked size range across 2–6 in: ask us.
Q: Can I order a mixed case of bandages — several widths in one case?
A: Ask through For Businesses and we will check the case configuration before you commit.
Q: How many glove boxes does a clinic use per month?
A: It tracks patient volume, not room count. Our glove-consumption guide walks through counting your own rate; boxes of 100 are the standard unit on our listings.
Q: Do I need both plaster and fiberglass on the shelf?
A: Only if your clinicians use both. Many PT clinics standardize on one immobilizer system and keep a small on-hand of the other for referrals that come back mid-treatment. Our fiberglass vs plaster guide lays out the storage, working-time and cost differences that drive that choice, without a dollar range attached.
Not medical advice. This guide is general purchasing information only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it does not replace the advice of your doctor, nurse or other qualified clinician or the manufacturer's instructions for use. Always follow their guidance for your situation.
