Considering the Role of Physical Therapists Within the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Individuals With Eating Disorders: An International Survey of Expert Clinicians

Abstract

Purpose. Recent research has demonstrated that physical therapy may benefit the physical and mental health of people with eating disorders (EDs). Because this is a new and developing field, this study aimed to investigate the experience, practices and knowledge of international physical therapy experts to inform clinical practice, education and research. Methods. An international cross-sectional survey design was undertaken with experienced physical therapists within the field of EDs. Physical therapist responses were analysed with descriptive statistics and thematic analysis as appropriate. Results. Twenty-eight international physical therapists participated. On average, participants had 6.9 years (95% confidence interval: 3.1-10.7, n = 27) of clinical experience working in ED settings and devoted approximately 39.3% (95% confidence interval: 23.8-54.8, n = 27) of their time to treating individuals with EDs. Participants reported that physical therapy interventions have a diverse range of benefits on the physical, mental and disease-specific factors (e.g. binges) in people with EDs. The key role of physical therapists includes improving body awareness, especially during physical activity combined with psycho-education about healthy doses of physical activity. Physical therapists were able to identify a range of barriers and facilitators to physical activity in people with EDs. Discussion. This paper provides a first step towards understanding the role and value of physical therapists working with individuals with EDs.

Physiotherapy and Mental Health

“…The combination of experience and insight drives changes and leads to new experiences. Specific approaches for eating disorders [78][79][80][81][82][83], schizophrenia [84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91], mood disorders [92][93][94][95][96][97] and depression and anxiety [23,[32][33][34] are developed.…”

A Justification for Exercise Intervention during Eating Disorder Treatment

“…Exercise physiologists and other accredited exercise professionals (herein referred to as exercise professionals) continue to be an underrepresented part of an ED treatment team (3,4). Yet they are uniquely positioned to support return to exercise or sport in individuals with an ED.…”

Efficacy of basic body awareness therapy on functional outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…Whilst clinical practice and research is increasingly focusing on physiotherapy interventions improving the wellbeing in patients with chronic conditions (Ahola et al., 2021; Dragesund & Øien, 2020; Ekerholt & Bergland, 2021; Gard et al., 2020; Soundy et al., 2016), no meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the efficacy of BBAT in ameliorating a wide range of functional outcomes and quality of life (QoL) is available to date. Previous reviews and meta‐analyses (Bravo, Skjaerven, & Catalan‐Matamoros, 2019; Vancampfort et al., 2014, 2020) did investigate a wide range of body‐mind therapies such as yoga, Tai Chi, qigong, or mindfulness‐based interventions but did not have a particular focus on the BBAT methodology (Skjaerven et al., 2019).…”