THE EFFECT OF ANATOMY KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF INTERN PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENTS ON THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH SHOULDER PROBLEMS

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to determine the success of physiotherapy intern students in treating patients with shoulder disabilities and to investigate the relationship between this competence and their knowledge of upper extremity anatomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 48 intern students were taken to the upper extremity anatomy exam. 20 students scored below 45 points formed Group 1, 28 students scored above 45 points formed Group 2. Standard finger ladder and wand exercises were applied to 48 patients 5 weekly sessions for 4 weeks. Patients were also taught home exercises to continue until the follow-up sessions. VAS (rest, activity, sleep), shoulder range of motion (ROM), SF-36 (health survey questionnaire), the disability of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH), and patient satisfaction questionnaire (PSQ-18) were performed pre-treatment, post-treatment (PostT), and 4 weeks after the treatment (C). RESULTS: In the short term, statistically significant improvement has been determined in VAS, ROM, and DASH in patients in group 2. In the long term, there was a statistically significant improvement in patients in both groups and no intergroup superiority. There was a statistically significant increase in SF-36 in the short and long periods in patients in Group 2, while no such increase was observed in Group 1. In PSQ-18, patients in both groups showed statistically significant satisfaction, with no significant differences between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Adequate knowledge of upper extremity anatomy of physiotherapy intern students is effective in achieving short-term treatment success. In the long term, patients' regular continuation of home exercises reduces the lack of treatment quality due to lack of anatomy knowledge.