Physiotherapists are knowledgeable about sport-related concussion

Abstract

PURPOSE: Sport-related concussions (SRC) are common, especially in rugby (3.00 incidents per 1000 athletic exposures) and American football (0.08 per 1000 athletic exposures). Physiotherapists should be aware of how to assess and manage cases with SRC. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of SRC among physiotherapists. METHODS: The self-administered survey consisted of 16 questions related to physiotherapists’ knowledge in managing SRC patients, case identification, and preventive measures. Countries were divided into regions based on World Physiotherapy regions. Data were analysed using a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with Tamhane’s T2 post hoc test. RESULTS: A total of 276 male (53.4 %) and 241 female (46.6%) physiotherapists participated. The survey scores ranged from 40% to 100%, with an average score of 62.7%. A master’s degree was the highest educational qualification (46.4%) recorded. There was a difference in the score based on participant qualifications (Welch’s F (4, 58.37) = 15.03, p < 0.001). Participants with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree (73.8±14.6%) or a fellowship (73.0±19.5%) or a masters’ degree (MSc) (62.7±18.5%) obtained greater scores than participants holding a bachelors’ degree (56.7±13.8%, p < 0.001). Furthermore, there was no difference in the survey score based on participants’ region (Welch’s F (4, 143.3) = 0.08, p = 0.988). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that many physiotherapists worldwide are aware of the current SRC assessment and management guidelines.