[Purpose] Over the years physiotherapy has been recognized as a popular mode of treatment that decreases the disability and dependency rate of patients. However, there is still a need for its recognition in multidisciplinary health care structures. If a physician were well aware of how a physical therapist could help with treatment if patients and prevent complications, hospital patient load could be decreased to a greater extent. The aim of this study was to study the awareness, perception and beliefs of physicians working in Saudi Arabia about physiotherapy. [Subjects and Methods] Three hundred fifteen members of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) with different specialties, nationalities, designation, and work experience, working in various hospitals in 5 regions of Saudi Arabia were invited to participate in this study. A 22-item questionnaire was used for data collection including sections on physicians’ demographics, educational levels and knowledge about physiotherapy. [Results] After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data from 280 respondents was used for analysis. Seventy-five percent of respondents reported to having some knowledge of physiotherapy, and 11% of them referred patients to physiotherapy departments regularly, while 14% referred patients occasionally. To the best of our knowledge, this is first study performed in Saudi Arabia to evaluate awareness of physicians about the physiotherapy profession. [Conclusion] The results of this study highlight the need to organize various workshops and lectures about the effectiveness of physiotherapy in various diseases for physicians, on a regular basis, to update them with evidence-based treatment. It is the responsibility of physical therapists to raise the perceptions of other healthcare professionals about their profession.

Background Burden of breast cancer it continues to increase largely because of the aging and growth of the world population and assessment of quality of life is an important outcome measure to facilitate and improved care among breast cancer survivors, the aim of this study was to evaluate evidence of reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Arabic version of the FACT-B + 4 questionnaire among participants with breast cancer related lymphedema (BCRL) in Saudi Arabia. Methods A prospective cross-sectional study, 51 participants with BCRL completed the Arabic version of FACT-B + 4. Internal consistency and test–retest-reliability were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, intraclass correlation-coefficient (ICC), and limits of agreement according to the Bland Altman method, respectively. The validation studies were carried-out by examining predefined hypotheses (n = 14) for both construct and Known-groups validity. To investigate the responsiveness, the Arabic version of FACT-B + 4 questionnaire was administrated preoperative and 4 weeks postoperatively among the participants with breast cancer (n = 34). Results The Cronbach alpha of the Arabic FACT-B + 4 total score was 0.90 and for the different subscales ranged from 0.74 to 0.89. Test–retest reliability for FACT-B + 4 total score and different subscales was found to be moderate to very strong (ICC 0.51–0.94). The Bland–Altman plot was adequate − 19.24 and 22.10 points. Measurement variability was acceptable for Arabic FACT-B + 4 and ARM subscale (standard error of measurement = 5.34, and 1.34). Moderate correlations (r = 0.42–0.62) were found between the subscale of the FACTB + 4 and the corresponding domains of SF-36. For known group validity, 72% (10 of 14) hypotheses on known group validity were accepted. Conclusion FACT-B + 4 has adequate psychometric properties, thus making it useful for assessing QOL quality of life in Arabic speaking women with BCRL.