Mechan P.1
1None, Boston, United States
Background: A majority of physical therapists (PTs) experience work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in a given year. Mechanisms of injury are directly attributable to delivery of patient care and work methods. While PTs have expertise in ergonomics, the profession lags behind many professions in awareness, corrective advocacy, and integration of evidence-based practices which would protect PT personnel from avoidable WMSDs.
Purpose: This presentation reviews historical and current safe patient handling and mobility (SPHM) efforts within the physical therapy community in the United States (US); educational curriculum integration of; insight toward US physical therapy WMSDs; and recommends actionable steps which can be taken to improve the working environment of PTs/PTAs and establish improved working methods to avoid risks factors associated with WMSDs.
Methods: This presentation is based on review of the scientific and regulatory evidence, expert consensus, and the authors professional experience in ergonomics.
Results: WMSDs affect work and personal roles. Too often, physical therapy curricula seem to ignore the evidence on SPHM, while insufficiently covering the basic SPHM strategies and techniques for students. Although some efforts to raise awareness among clinical physical therapy community exist, improvement and prioritization of this topic by the profession would add urgency and gravitas to the need for change. Effective methods to reduce or eliminate the hazards of moving excess weight by PTs and PTAs are reliable and easily implemented. With training, more appropriate tools and techniques for SPHM are easily integrated into therapeutic care, with no currently known negative consequences.
Conclusion(s): Evidence-based practice is a goal of the physical therapy profession. Visionary leaders have called for physical therapists (PTs) to examine and incorporate current evidence into their decisions. If PTs aspire to be evidence-based clinicians, then unawareness of, or dismissive attitudes towards the evidence of unsafe manual lifting and handling practices is contrary to this value. The time is now for safer mobility facilitation standards.
Implications: The lag time to incorporate evidence has important economic consequences for health care organizations, PTs, and the broader health care system. By adopting attitudes of meaningful health care worker safety and changing unsafe working practices, PTs and other PT personnel can continue to be a valuable resource for patient populations.
Funding acknowledgements: No funding support
Topic: Professional issues
Ethics approval: None required
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
