International Journal of Physical Therapy Research & Practice

Awareness and Knowledge of Role of Physiotherapy in The Management of Knee Osteoarthritis Among Al-Baha Populations

Nada Alghamdi — 2025-06-30

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disease-causing significant morbidity and functional limitations globally. Physiotherapy plays a key role in managing knee OA, offering non-invasive approaches to reduce symptoms and improve joint function. This study aimed to assess awareness, knowledge, and perceived barriers to physiotherapy use for knee OA among adults in the Al-Baha region of Saudi Arabia—an underrepresented area in musculoskeletal health research with limited data on physiotherapy utilization. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 781 participants in Al-Baha using a structured, self-administered Arabic-language online questionnaire. The survey collected demographic data, awareness and knowledge of knee OA and physiotherapy, and identified barriers and motivators to physiotherapy utilization. The instrument was pilot-tested before deployment. Participants were selected through convenience sampling. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University. Data were analyzed using SPSS; descriptive and inferential statistics were used, with associations tested at a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Among participants, 96.5% were familiar with knee OA. Joint pain (84.0%) was the most recognized symptom; advanced age (78.7%) and low physical activity (65.0%) were commonly identified causes. Physiotherapy was acknowledged as a treatment by 83.1%, with exercise therapy being the most recognized (67.0%). However, 51.7% believed exercise could worsen pain. Barriers included a lack of awareness (66.9%) and limited facility access (54.6%). Chi-square analysis revealed significant associations between physiotherapy knowledge and age (p < 0.001) and occupation (p = 0.002), but not with gender, education, or nationality. Conclusion: This study highlights high general awareness of knee OA and physiotherapy but reveals substantial knowledge gaps and barriers to service access. Public education, enhanced service availability, and culturally relevant outreach are needed to improve physiotherapy uptake in knee OA care.

Association of COVID-19 Knowledge, Adherence to Precautionary Measures, Human Behavior, and Positive Mental Health in the Saudi General Public: Considerations for Innovative Tailored Rehabilitation Approaches

Alia M Almoajel — 2025-06-30

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19) pandemic has wreaked havoc worldwide and affected the mental health of many people by prompting fears of falling sick, dying, helplessness, and stigma. Therefore, timely recognition of mental health issues is needed. This study aimed to assess the relationships of knowledge, adherence to precautionary measures, human behavior, and positive mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic on the general Saudi population. Methods: An online survey using snowballing sampling was conducted to collect data on respondents’ socio-demographics, COVID-19 knowledge, adherence to precautions, human behavior, and positive state of mental health during the pandemic. Path analysis was used to measure effects among these factors. Results: Survey responses revealed that fatigue significantly affected performance, with 47% of participants strongly agreeing that fatigue impacted their cognitive and motor functions. Significant positive correlations were found between the EXP GPD Score and Control GPD Score (0.8031), and between EXP GPD Errors and Control GPD Errors (0.8595). The regression analysis indicated that for every unit increase in the Fatigue Borg Scale, the EXP GPD Score (time) increased by approximately 0.8036 units. Paired samples t-tests confirmed significant differences in performance and perceived fatigue between control and post-fatigue groups. Conclusion: In the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia, knowledge about the disease, and human behavior affected positive mental ‎health. The findings found that positive mental health could be enhanced with clear communication and dissemination of knowledge, and having appropriate human behavior in the early stages of an outbreak. Further research is warranted to explore the effect of adhering to precautionary measures on having positive mental health in future pandemics.

Comparing Outcomes of Surgical and Nonsurgical Management for Achilles Tendon Ruptures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Adel Alghamdi — 2025-06-30

Background: Achilles tendon rupture is a common injury, and the optimal management approach—surgical or conservative—remains debated. The current systematic review and meta-analysis aim to compare surgical and conservative management strategies, considering efficacy and safety, by assessing the functional outcomes, rate of complications, and rate of re-rupture. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple electronic databases to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing surgical and conservative management of Achilles tendon rupture. The main key outcomes included Achilles Tendon Score (ATRS), Complications incidence, including the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). For meta-analysis, effect sizes, confidence intervals, and heterogeneity were calculated depending on a random-effects model. Results: The results of the current review showed a substantial advantage of surgical management showed a significant advantage in ATRS scores (pooled estimate: 2.241; 95% CI: 1.004–3.478; p < 0.001). Regarding safety, no significant difference was found in DVT incidence (pooled estimate: 0.460; 95% CI: 0.163–1.302; p = 0.144; I² = 0%); the surgical group showed a non-significant increase in infection rates (pooled estimate: 2.217; 95% CI: 0.763–6.446; p = 0.144; I² = 0%) and conservative management had a significantly higher rate of re-rupture (pooled estimate: 0.182; 95% CI: 0.085–0.391; p < 0.001; I² = 0%). Conclusion: Surgical management is associated with a lower risk of re-rupture, while both approaches yield comparable long-term functional outcomes.