"I've been to physical therapy before, but not for the knees." A qualitative study exploring barriers and facilitators to physical therapy utilization for knee osteoarthritis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Physical therapy (PT) is recommended to reduce pain and improve function. However, only 10%-15% of adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA) use PT in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore patient-reported barriers and facilitators to PT utilization for knee OA, to understand why PT is underutilized.

Methods

Qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews was conducted, that is, one-on-one phone interviews with adults from local community centers. Participants were eligible if they were fluent in English and self-reported knee OA (1) over 45 years of age, (2) have activity-related knee pain, and (3) have no morning stiffness or morning stiffness in the knee(s) for ≤30 min. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. To identify

SUBMITTER: Christiansen MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7749817 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature