What's new

April 2024

First-Ever Telerehab CPG Specifically for PTs and PTAs Now Available

APTA's newest clinical practice guideline is designed to inform practice and enlighten payers and policymakers.

Date: Friday, March 22, 2024

The days of thinking of telerehabilitation as an emerging possibility are long gone: Telerehab is here and on the rise. The physical therapy profession now has cutting-edge clinical guidance to help PTs and PTAs put the approach to its most effective use.

APTA's newest clinical practice guideline, or CPG, titled "Telerehabilitation in Physical Therapist Practice," has published in PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation, APTA's science journal. APTA members have full-text access to all PTJ content for free as a member benefit; to help disseminate the recommendations as quickly as possible, APTA made the CPG available to all.

The CPG includes seven recommendations on preparation, implementation, and impact considerations around telerehab, each accompanied by ratings of the quality of evidence supporting the recommendation as well as the strength of the recommendation. Authors of the CPG write that in addition to its practical usefulness for PTs and PTAs, the resource is relevant to "decision makers, health care professionals, consumers, funders, and regulatory people of interest."

The recommendations are the result of researcher reviews of randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, comparative studies, and qualitative studies on telerehabilitation published between 2010 and 2022. That process included the review of 487 full-length articles, ultimately winnowed down to 45 studies that met criteria for inclusion.

The CPG development group was led by Alan Lee, PT, DPT, PhD and Trevor Russell, PT, PhD and included PTs and physiotherapists from around the world including Australia, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Canada, and Argentina.

Intended to serve as an international resource, the final published version of the CPG will also be translated into Chinese and Spanish, with recommendations published in French. Look for additional supporting materials, including an APTA CPG+ resource, pocket guides, a podcast, and more in the coming weeks and months.

May 2022

NEW: Clinical Practice Guidelines were published. Wonderful ongoing support of EBP.

Clinical Practice Guidelines— Physical Therapist Management of Parkinson Disease: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American Physical Therapy Association (PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal)

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants now have the first clinical practice guideline on the management of individuals with Parkinson disease designed specifically for the profession. The CPG, developed by APTA, is the product of a volunteer guideline development group consisting of member PTs from APTA and its sections and academies. Representatives from the American Parkinson's Disease Association and a neurologist from the American Academy of Neurology also provided perspectives during the development of the resource.

The new CPG focuses on the management of adult idiopathic typical Parkinson disease and is primarily based on studies of individuals in the early to mid-stages of the condition.

The full CPG is available to anyone for free on the PTJ website.

Physical Therapist Management of Patients With Suspected or Confirmed Osteoporosis: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy.

For individuals with osteoporosis, counteracting the decline of bone mineral density, or BMD, can play a key role in maintaining health and lowering the risk of injury. A newly adopted set of guidelines sheds light on the ways physical therapists can help to address BMD loss through exercise. The guidelines also acknowledge that challenges remain, because effecting change in BMD takes time — anywhere from six months to four years or more. The guidelines, identified by APTA Geriatrics with the support of APTA, and endorsed by the association, include exercise recommendations for premenopausal and postmenopausal women. They do not include specific recommendations for men due to a lack of sufficient evidence.

Click here for these APTA Resources