The most used EPA's in knee osteoarthritis by physical therapists in Portugal

Abstract

Background: Knee’s osteoarthritis is an health condition that has been growing as a result of the increment of the average life expectancy and also due to the high rates of obesity, having a financial impact on the health system and, consequently, on society in general. There are a lot of strategies that can be used by physical therapists to address this pathology, and one of the supporting tools mentioned in the literature is electrotherapy (EPA).

Objectives: This study aimed to understand which EPAs are most used in the knee’s treatment OA by physical therapists in Portugal, if this choice would be according with the most recent evidence and if the type of practice and the clinical context influenced their selection.

Methods and results: 544 physical therapists working in Portugal answered an online questionnaire built for this purpose, between July and September 2018. From the sample, 424 used EPAs in their daily clinical practice during the intervention with people with OA, the most used being TENS (52, 1%) and US (45.3%). The type of practice seems to have influenced the selection of different EPAs, and those who worked under medical prescription used this strategy more often.

Conclusion: Despite the frequent use of EPAs in the approach to OA by Portuguese physical therapists, most of the literature does not seem to support this strategy.

Keywords: Electrotherapy, Physical therapist, Knee osteoarthritis