Protocolo de intervención en lesiones de hombro aplicados por fisioterapeutas de la ciudad de Ambato

Abstract

Shoulder injuries are the type of injury most frequently seen in the emergency department, suffered by the working population as well as athletes. From the medical area, patients are referred to the physiotherapy department for proper evaluation and intervention, in order to improve their quality of life. The purpose of this research project was to analyze the intervention protocol applied in shoulder injuries by physical therapists in the city of Ambato. 50 active professionals from public and private centers participated in this study. This was a quantitative-qualitative field study with a descriptive research design. Data collection was carried out by applying a cross-sectional survey composed of three questionnaires previously validated by experts in the field, that identified evaluation elements, methods and rehabilitation techniques, as well as physical therapists’ basic knowledge on this topic. Statistical processes were carried out in programs such as IBM SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The results showed that, in terms of shoulder assessment, physical therapists mostly use the correct elements for evaluation, despite this there were inconsistencies, since a high percentage responded to the distractor. However, the professionals did not use scientific evidence, clinical practice guidelines and did not apply evidence-based practice. Though they use methods and techniques backed by high quality scientific evidence for adhesive capsulitis, they did not apply them in the correct xvi rehabilitation phases, whereas for shoulder tendinopathies they used low scientific quality protocols. In relation to basic knowledge of anatomy, physiology and biomechanics, they obtained an average of 5.6/10 points, which shows a deficit in knowledge.