Exploring the impact of physiotherapy on health outcomes in older adults with chronic diseases: a cross-sectional analysis

• Main Authors: Ravi Shankar Reddy (Author), Khalid A. Alahmari (Author), Mastour Saeed Alshahrani (Author), Batool Abdulelah Alkhamis (Author), Jaya Shanker Tedla (Author), Mohammad A. ALMohiza (Author), Basant Hamdy Elrefaey (Author), Ghada M. Koura (Author), Kumar Gular (Author), Hani Hassan Alnakhli (Author), Debjani Mukherjee (Author), Vikram Sreenivasa Rao (Author), Khalid Awad Al-Qahtani (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A., 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

ObjectiveThis study evaluates the impact of physiotherapy interventions on health outcomes and explores the correlation between physiotherapy session characteristics and improvements in health among older individuals.MethodsIn a cross-sectional design, 384 older adults with chronic conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), diabetes, and hypertension were recruited.ResultsThe proportion of arthritis (39.1%) and hypertension (45.8%) was notably high. Participants receiving physiotherapy showed significant improvements in pain levels (mean reduction from 5.09 to 2.95), mobility scores (improvement from 3.0 to 3.96), and functional independence. A positive correlation was identified between the frequency of physiotherapy sessions and pain reduction (r = 0.26, p = 0.035), and a stronger correlation between session duration and both pain reduction (r = 0.38, p = 0.002) and mobility improvement (r = 0.43, p = 0.001). High satisfaction rates with physiotherapy were reported, and age was found to be a significant negative predictor of health outcomes (Coef. = −0.3402, p = 0.0009).ConclusionPhysiotherapy interventions significantly improve health outcomes in older adults with chronic diseases.

Item Description

2296-2565
10.3389/fpubh.2024.1415882