JOSPT open最新文献

Objective: To evaluate how initiating physical therapy (PT) early affected (1) case duration and (2) the number of PT visits, in patients with acute work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs).

Design: A retrospective cohort study of 83 846 patients with WMSDs who were receiving occupational health services between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022.

Methods: Patients were categorized according to the time from injury to initiating PT (0-2 days, 3-7 days, 8-12 days, and 13+ days). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze case duration and PT visits across 7 diagnostic groups (lumbar spine, thoracic spine, cervical spine, shoulder/humerus, elbow/wrist/hand, knee, and ankle/foot). Kruskal-Wallis tests assessed the impact of PT timing on outcomes.

Results: Initiating PT early (0-2 days) was associated with significantly shorter case durations and fewer PT visits across all diagnostic groups. The median case duration for early PT was 14 days, compared to 28 days for initiating PT later (13+ days). Similarly, the early PT group required fewer PT visits (median: 4) than the late PT group (median: 5). These trends were consistent across all diagnostic groups.

Conclusion: Initiating PT early, particularly within the first 2 days postinjury, was associated with shorter case durations and fewer PT sessions in people with acute WMSDs. Standardizing early PT protocols in occupational health settings could improve case durations and reduce health care use.

Objectives: To (1) create and evaluate the usefulness of an online evidence-based education resource about running and knee health (eg, knee osteoarthritis) for the public and health care professionals, and (2) assess the online resource's effects on perceptions about running and knee health.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Methods: We created an online education resource (series of infographics) in 7 languages with community input. Then, we conducted a single-round online survey in which participants rated its usefulness and answered questions on perceptions about running and knee health before and after reading the infographics.

Results: Two thousand six hundred ninety-four participants (1291 members of the general public and 1403 health care professionals; 45.7% with knee osteoarthritis and 67.6% runners) from 60 countries viewed the infographics and responded to the postinfographics questions. The online resource was considered very useful, with a median rating of 9 out of 10. 23.2% of participants reported no change in their perceptions about running and knee health, 46.2% changed a little bit, 19.3% changed a moderate amount, and 11.3% changed a lot. Perceptions of running were more favorable after reading the infographics, especially about the effects of regular and frequent running on knee health, and running in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Perceptions about running long distances were less favorable after the infographics.

Conclusion: Our free online education resource was considered useful by both the public and health care professionals. Overall, the online resource led to more positive perceptions about recreational running and knee health. However, its effects on behavior change and running participation remain unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the associations between psychological factors (pain self-efficacy, kinesiophobia, and pain catastrophizing), physical activity, and patient-reported hip function in patients presenting to physical therapy with chronic (>3 months) hip pain.

Design: Observational, cross-sectional.

Methods: Participants completed a survey including age, sex, height/weight, symptom duration, 11-item Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-11), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), and 12-item International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-12). Participants wore an accelerometer (60 Hz) for 7 days. Predictors of iHOT-12 scores were assessed using a linear regression with forward variable selection.

Results: Forty-one participants (29 females, 12 males; 40.5 ± 14.0 years; 26.7 ± 7.8 kg/m²) with intra-articular nonarthritic hip condition (53.7%), hip osteoarthritis (19.5%), other/multiple diagnoses (17.1%), and extra-articular hip condition (9.8%) were evaluated. Diagnosis groups did not differ in sex, body mass index, physical activity, psychological measures, or patient-reported function (P≥.09). Participants with hip osteoarthritis (59.8 ± 8.3 years) were older than those with intra-articular nonarthritic hip conditions (33.0 ± 9.7 years) and other/multiple diagnoses (37.4 ± 10.6) (P<.001). A model containing PSEQ scores, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and TSK-11 scores explained 38% of the variance in iHOT-12 scores (P<.001), with PSEQ explaining 20% of the variance in iHOT-12 scores alone.

Conclusion: Pain self-efficacy and kinesiophobia were associated with patient-reported function in people with chronic hip pain of multiple etiologies. Clinicians may consider screening for psychological factors in this patient population.