Physiotherapy Assessment of Patients Referred to Orthopaedic Surgeon

Vastra Gotaland Region

Status: Completed

Conditions: Musculoskeletal Pain

Treatments: Procedure: Standard practice; Procedure: Physiotherapy screening

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02265172

EPN GBG 328-09

Details and patient eligibility

About

Many patients with musculoskeletal pain in primary healthcare are referred to orthopaedic surgeon, however, a relatively low percentage of these patients are considered suitable for orthopaedic intervention.

Physiotherapists are suitable for musculoskeletal assessments and are used as such in many countries i.e. Advanced Practice Physiotherapists or Extended Scope Physiotherapists, however, this is not an existing model of care in Sweden. To be able to consider this model for implementation in Sweden it is necessary to evaluate it from a healthcare as well as from a patient perspective.

The study is a randomised controlled trial. Overall aim is to evaluate if a orthopaedic manual therapy assessment (physiotherapy) assessment of patients referred to orthopaedic surgeon bring any changes to referral routines, patient satisfaction and health-related variables when compared to standard practice.

Full description

The study is a randomised controlled trial. Overall aim is to evaluate if a orthopaedic manual therapy assessment (physiotherapy) assessment of patients referred to orthopaedic surgeon bring any changes to referral routines, patient satisfaction and health-related variables when compared to standard practice. Patients were randomised to either physiotherapy assessment or standard practice (orthopaedic surgeon assessment).

Enrollment: 208 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 67 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• patients referred for orthopaedic surgeon with sub acute (four weeks to three months) or chronic (>three months) musculoskeletal pain who had the ability to understand written and spoken Swedish.

Exclusion criteria

• diagnosed hallux valgus, ganglion or trigger finger.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Diagnostic

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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208 participants in 2 patient groups

Physiotherapy screening

Experimental group

Description:

Screening consisted of a 60-min appointment including assessment, diagnosis and management. The patients received advice regarding ergonomics, exercises and/or treatment when needed. Management options were; * Referral for orthopaedic surgeon consultation. * Referral back to the patient's General Practitioner. * Referral for further investigation. * Referral to the physiotherapy or the occupational therapy clinic.

Treatment:

Procedure: Physiotherapy screening

Standard practice (orthopaedic surgeon)

Active Comparator group

Description:

Appointment was 15 min, including assessment, diagnosis and management. The patients received advice, prescriptions or injections when needed. Management options were; * Referral for orthopaedic intervention. * Referral back to the patient's General Practitioner. * Referral for further investigation. * Referral to the physiotherapy or the occupational therapy clinic.

Treatment:

Procedure: Standard practice