Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by WARD, A. W. M.
Right arrow Articles by DIXON, R. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by WARD, A. W. M.
Right arrow Articles by DIXON, R. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1978 British Society for Rheumatology

research-article

PHYSIOTHERAPY: ITS PRESCRIPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION FOR ORTHOPAEDIC OUT-PATIENTS

A. W. M. WARD1,, B. T. WILLIAMS2 and R. A. DIXON3

1Medical Care Research Unit, Department of Community Medicine, University of Sheffield
2Trent Regiomi Health Authority
3Department of Community Medicine, University of Sheffield

Correspondence to: Requests for reprints to Dr. A. W. M. Ward, Medical Care Research Unit, Department of Community Medicine, University of Sheffield Medical School, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield Sb 2RX

During a three-month period, 1462 (29%) of the new out-patients seen by 18 orthopaedic surgeons were prescribed physiotherapy. The rates of referral among the surgeons ranged widely, from 15% to 56%, and the differing characteristics of the patients did not account for these variations. For specific conditions examined, physiotherapy appeared to be one of a range of possible therapies. The majority of prescriptions gave clinical details and specified the type of treatment, but its duration was specified in less than half; the frequency and aims of treatment were hardly ever given.

Nearly 90 % of the patients completed their course. Fourteen different types of treatment were applied, but only four of these—heat, exercises, electrical stimulation, and traction—were applied to more than 3% of the patients. Physiotherapists nearly always carried out the treatments prescribed and augmented them in nearly a quarter of cases, usually with heat and/or exercises.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.