Physiotherapists fear a cut in their NHS budgets could make things worse for patients.
Waiting times could get longer and people could be forced to stay in hospital longer.
Yet the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy claims that hundreds of unemployed physiotherapy graduates, trained at great cost to the taxpayer, remain frozen out of the NHS when they should be in the service, treating patients.
In a statement, the national society said that in the West Midlands alone, 154,000 people were admitted to hospital last year with conditions needing physiotherapy treatment.
In Herefordshire, out of 40,473 patients 4,701 people, or 11.6%, fell into that category.
The county was ranked 16th out of 30 for hospital admissions for bone injuries and musculoskeletal diseases.
The society expressed concern that if physio budgets across England were squeezed, patients would suffer more pain.
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