Assessment & Treatment Approaches Of Physical Therapists Treating Runners

Physical Therapists (PTs) use a variety of strategies to assess and treat runners. PURPOSE: To assess occurrence of reasons and approaches used by PTs treating runners. METHODS: A Qualtrics survey was distributed to PTs treating runners. Runners’ reasons to seek treatment and treatment approaches were measured by a Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (always). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data with responses divided into two groups, those with fewer continuing education (CE) hours related to running analysis and running-related intervention (20 or less) and those with more than 21 hours. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to examine significant differences between groups based on CE hours. RESULTS: There were 58 PTs that completed the survey with 29 in each group based on CE. The most common reason runners seek treatment was knee pain (M = 2.84, SD = 0.67) and least common was performance enhancement (M = 1.64, SD = 1.22). The most common treatment approach was hip/knee strengthening (M = 3.55, SD = 0.65) and the least common was augmented feedback (M = 0.78, SD = 1.06). There was significantly higher occurrence of assessment of foot/ankle pain (U = 320, p = 0.049), performance enhancement (U = 259, p = .010), running form analysis (U = 148, p = <.001), and training schedule (U = 276, p = .021) for those with more than 20 hours of CE hours compared to those with less than 20 hours. Additionally, there was a significantly higher occurrence of gait retraining (U = 187, p = <.001) and use of augmented feedback (U = 299, p = 0.036) between groups. Back pain, hip/pelvic pain, knee pain, analysis, mobility, strengthening, fascial manipulation, taping, dry needling, running shoe recommendation, pain neuroscience education, mindfulness, and diaphragmatic breathing as assessment and treatment approaches were not significant between groups. CONCLUSION: PTs with greater than 20 hours of CE in running assessment and running-related intervention resulted in advanced assessment and treatment approaches. Runners may tend to seek services from PTs with more hours of continuing education in these areas.