Türki̇ye’de Eği̇ti̇m Gören Fi̇zyoterapi̇ Öğrenci̇leri̇nde Ve Fi̇zyoterapi̇stlerde Güncel Skolyoz Bi̇lgi̇si̇

Abstract

Purpose: Present evidence suggests that early detection and correct management is an essential part of scoliosis treatment. Therefore, the physiotherapists and physiotherapy students must have adequate knowledge of scoliosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current knowledge of physiotherapists and physiotherapy students in Turkey on scoliosis.
 Methods: A previously designed questionnaire on the basis of International Society on Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT) guideline consists of two sections was used in this study. The first section included eight questions to evaluate the knowledge level on the definition, cause, development, prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and bracing of scoliosis. The second section included three multiple-choice questions to analyze the participants’ opinions on exercises for scoliosis. All Turkish universities offering physiotherapy degrees and graduated physiotherapists from certain social media groups were invited to participate in the study. 
 Results: 649 physiotherapists and 497 students completed the questionnaire. Scoliosis is recognized as a 3-dimensional deformity of the spine by 39.8% of the students and 57.2% of the physiotherapists. Only 19.5% of the students and 30.7% of the physiotherapists correctly identified the diagnostic criteria for scoliosis. For therapeutic exercise, 48.7% of the students and 61.3% percent of the physiotherapists identified the appropriate approach, and also 57.3% of the students and 62.6% of the physiotherapists correctly identified the bracing recommendations.
 Conclusion: Results of this study showed that physiotherapists and physiotherapy students do not have sufficient knowledge of scoliosis. Action needs to be taken to improve the awareness and basic knowledge level of scoliosis.

Assessing Idiopathic Scoliosis Knowledge Levels Among Malaysian Physiotherapists and Associating Their Clinical Experience

“…Our findings suggest that 60.3% of physiotherapists in Malaysia are aware that bracing is required for IS patients with a Cobb angle of more than 20°. These findings were similar to a study conducted in Turkey, where 60% of physiotherapists know when a brace should be applied (AKGÜL et al, 2022). Meanwhile, only 42% of South African physiotherapists understand that bracing is recommended for IS patients with curves over 20° (Du Toit et al, 2020).…”

“…Generally, our findings demonstrated that physiotherapists in Malaysia have a good understanding of the cause of IS, the development of IS, and the use of bracing. Our results showed that physiotherapists (66.7%) in Malaysia were able to identify the cause of IS correctly, similar to findings conducted among physiotherapists in Turkey (52.7%) and South Africa (73.5%) (AKGÜL et al, 2022;Du Toit et al, 2020).…”

“…This suggests that the overall knowledge of IS amongst physiotherapists in Malaysia is poor. Similarly, a recent study conducted in Turkey among physiotherapists and physiotherapy students showed a deficiency in fundamental knowledge of IS (AKGÜL et al, 2022). A study in the United States reported that only 8% of physiotherapy students could answer 70% of the questions according to the SOSORT guidelines (Drake et al, 2014).…”

“…More than half of practising physiotherapists in South Africa were unable to define IS correctly, only 15.7% were aware of the prevalence of IS, 66.4% incorrectly suggested or were not sure about the diagnosis of IS, and over half (58%) were unable to answer the treatment for IS correctly (Du Toit et al, 2020). On the contrary, a study conducted in Turkey found that most (57.2%) practising physiotherapists could define IS correctly (AKGÜL et al, 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, the study highlighted a significant knowledge gap concerning conservative treatment methods for IS. Similarly, a study conducted in Turkey found that physiotherapists significantly lacked knowledge in diagnosing the criteria for scoliosis (AKGÜL et al, 2022). Studies assessing the knowledge of IS among physiotherapist students conducted in the United States of America, Poland, and the United Kingdom also failed to demonstrate an acceptable level of knowledge (Black et al, 2017;Ciazynski et al, 2008;Drake et al, 2014).…”