APTA Orthopaedic Clinical Practice Guidelines – Reach, Perceptions, Use, and Impact: A Survey Study

OBJECTIVES: To determine physical therapists’ attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors (ABKB) regarding the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Orthopaedic Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs), barriers and facilitators to using APTA Orthopaedic CPGs, and their impact on practice. METHODS: An electronic survey was distributed through select APTA distribution lists, newsletters, and social media, inviting physical therapists (PTs) to participate. Questions explored PTs’ awareness of and ABKB about using APTA Orthopaedic CPGs, and CPG implementation facilitators and barriers. RESULTS: Of the 688 respondents, 502 (73.0%) were aware of the APTA Orthopaedic CPGs. Of the 186 unaware respondents, nearly 30% were members of APTA Orthopaedic or the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy. The majority of aware respondents believed that CPGs were consistent with current evidence (n = 470; 93.6%) and were important to implement in clinical practice (n = 407; 81.1%). Facilitators were that CPGs were free and available online (n = 380; 75.7%), and PTs’ desire to implement best practices (n = 405; 80.7%). Barriers were heavy workloads (n = 138; 27.5%), document lengths (n = 143; 28.5%), being too general (n = 103; 20.5%), and limited topics available (n = 83; 16.5%). CPGs impacted respondents’ practice by aligning patient management with scientific evidence (n = 347; 69.1%), facilitating uniform clinical decision-making (n = 229; 45.6%), and improving patient outcomes and satisfaction (n = 187; 37.3%). CONCLUSION: APTA Orthopaedic CPGs were useful tools to inform knowledge and clinical decision making if clinicians were aware of them—one in three of respondents were not. The survey results justify the work and costs of producing CPGs, and there is room for improvement through greater education and knowledge translation tools to improve member awareness and implementation. JOSPT Open 2025;3(3):362-373. Epub 23 April 2025. doi:10.2519/josptopen.2025.0120