How is therapy and rehabilitation equipment valued?

What we appraise in a therapy or rehab practice

A therapy clinic is a collection of equipment categories, and each has its own resale market and depreciation curve.

• Treatment tables and plinths: hi-lo tables, tilt tables, mat platforms and traction tables.
• Electrotherapy and modalities: electrical stimulation units, therapeutic ultrasound, laser therapy, TENS, interferential current and combination units.
• Exercise and resistance: multi-station weight systems, pulleys, parallel bars, upper-body ergometers and isokinetic dynamometers.
• Hydrotherapy: whirlpool baths, fluidotherapy units, hot/cold pack systems and paraffin baths.
• Traction and decompression: cervical and lumbar traction units, spinal decompression tables.
• Gait training and balance: balance platforms, harness systems, parallel bars and instrumented walkways.
• CPM and recovery devices: continuous passive motion machines (knee, shoulder, ankle), pneumatic compression systems.

What drives the value

Two clinics with similar equipment lists can appraise very differently. Condition and clinical versatility lead: a multi-function combination modality unit that runs current software and carries manufacturer support holds value well, while an older single-function unit sits below its original cost regardless of cosmetic condition. Treatment tables are durable and broadly standardized, so they depreciate more slowly than electronic modalities. Spinal decompression tables from established manufacturers hold value better than off-brand units because parts, training and service availability follow brand recognition. The resale market for each category is where the comparable evidence comes from, not a depreciation schedule.

How to value therapy equipment, step by step

The method is the same whether the practice is being sold, financed or divided. It is the discipline that makes the number hold up.

1. Inventory what is actually there. Make, model, serial and year per unit, room by room, separating owned equipment from leased and from what belongs to the landlord.
2. Fix age, condition and functional status. Condition includes both cosmetic state and operational function. An electrotherapy unit that powers on but cannot hold calibration is not worth the same as one that does.
3. Confirm what conveys. Software-dependent devices (laser therapy, decompression tables) may carry licenses that do not transfer on sale. Service contracts may not transfer either.
4. Choose the premise before pricing anything. The purpose sets the premise, and the premise changes the answer more than any single piece of equipment does.
5. Gather market evidence per category. Dealer listings, refurbisher offerings and auction results for that exact class, not a blanket depreciation rate applied across the whole inventory.
6. Reconcile and document. Every value traces to evidence in the file, which is what a lender, a court or the SBA will ask to see.

A depreciation schedule is not an appraisal. Book value reflects a tax election made years ago, not what the equipment would bring in today's market. See the premises of value, explained, or the canonical definitions on our appraisal process page.

How therapy equipment depreciates by category

Depreciation in a therapy practice is not uniform. Treatment tables, plinths and mat platforms are durable, broadly standardized and always in demand, so they depreciate slowly: a well-maintained hi-lo table from a major manufacturer can hold 40 to 50 percent of replacement cost at the ten-year mark. Exercise and resistance equipment (parallel bars, weight stations, pulleys) follows a similar curve because the design does not change much from year to year.

Electronic modalities depreciate faster. Combination electrotherapy units hold value when they carry current software and manufacturer support, but a unit that has been superseded by a newer generation or is out of the service window drops well below original cost. Therapeutic laser systems follow clinical-technology cycles: a unit with current FDA clearance and supported wavelength protocols holds better than one that is two generations back. Hydrotherapy equipment (whirlpools, fluidotherapy) is mid-range: durable in construction but subject to infection-control requirements that can affect buyer willingness.

Spinal decompression tables are the widest swing in a therapy practice. An established brand with documented treatment protocols and a parts supply holds value strongly. An off-brand unit without parts or service support can sit at a fraction of its original cost even when mechanically functional.

What a therapy equipment appraisal costs

There is no flat price, because the work is not the same from one clinic to the next. Fee is a function of scope: how many treatment rooms and how much equipment is on the list, whether the assignment needs an on-site inspection or can be done from records and photographs, the premise and effective date the purpose requires, how complete the existing asset records are, and whether the report needs to hold up to a lender's review or to cross-examination.

An appraisal supporting a lending decision or an SBA file is built to a lender's documentation standard. One prepared for litigation or expert testimony (a partnership dispute or a malpractice damages claim) is built to survive cross-examination. Both take more work than a planning estimate, and both are worth more to the person holding them. Tell us the purpose and the asset list and we will scope it precisely.

Which premise applies to your situation

The same equipment carries different numbers depending on why you are asking. A practice sale or buy-in usually calls for fair market value. A loan, equipment refinance or SBA file usually calls for a liquidation premise such as orderly liquidation value or net orderly liquidation value. An estate, a partnership dissolution or a divorce calls for fair market value as of a specific date. An insurance claim calls for replacement cost new. We confirm the premise before we begin, so the number fits the decision in front of you.

Therapy and rehab equipment sits inside our healthcare specialty. See the healthcare and medical equipment appraisal specialty, or, for related clinical equipment, how surgical equipment is valued.

Healthcare equipment appraisal specialty →