Physiotherapy SIG

Save the Date

We are very excited to offer another online experience for the FFN network! Join our upcoming webinar about “Meet the Authors: Clinical Practice Guideline for Physical Therapy Management of Older Adults with Hip Fracture” free of charge on 27th April/28th April 2021!

Vision

To create a collaborative working group of physiotherapists within the FFN that includes clinical practitioners, educators and researchers who are involved in the whole management pathway of care for fragility fracture patients.

To gather physiotherapists around the world involved in the management of the patient with fragility fracture into a collaborative network.

Aims

To discuss the role of physiotherapists in the whole pathway of care for fragility fracture;

To discuss the mobility disability measures/instruments in each stage of care;

To discuss the whole clinical decision making process, including examination, evaluation, plan of care and outcome assessment measures based on the best available scientific evidence and clinical judgment to address the whole pathway of care for fragility fracture patients;

To discuss (review and assess) the role of exercise as a preventive strategy to prevent falls and fragility fractures;

To discuss the role of exercise as a therapeutic intervention to address reduced physical performance, disability, sarcopenia and frailty related to fragility fractures;

To discuss the role of PTs in the multidisciplinary team co-management for integral care of fragility fracture patients.

Status

The Physio SIG has arranged yearly pre-congress workshops since the 2016 FFN congress in Rome and are preparing to do so again for 2021 Toronto. Some of the presentations from the Oxford 2019 pre-day workshop were recorded by the University of Sydney’s Musculoskeletal network SydMSK as a Live Webinar. Several of these recorded talks are also available.

Current activity: snapshot survey

International evidence-based guidelines for care of people after hip fracture recommend early mobilisation, multidisciplinary care and interventions to reduce the risk of future fractures that include fall prevention strategies. The extent to which these recommendations are followed in routine care around the world is not known.

The Physio SIG just submitted results of a web-based snapshot survey, launched in Brazil, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Ireland and Spain, that aims to document current practices in mobilisation of people recovering from hip fracture as well describe aspects of physiotherapy care for people recovering from a hip fracture.

Members of the Physio SIG also published a paper entitled “Physiotherapy following fragility fractures” within the 2018 special FFN Injury Issue on Rising to the Challenge of Fragility!

The group has a Twitter account, a LinkedIn group and a YouTube channel with presentations from previous workshops and webinars.

Interim co-chairs Physiotherapy Special Interest Group, Fragility Fracture Network

Morten Tange Kristensen (mortentange@hotmail.com), Denmark

Cathie Sherrington (cathie.sherrington@sydney.edu.au), Australia

Advisory group: Monica Perracini: Brazil, Sallie Lamb: UK, David Keene: UK, Rebecca Kearney: UK, Catherine Blake: Ireland, Caitriona Cunningham: Ireland, Michelle Fitzgerald: Ireland, Kate Mangione: USA, Lauren Beaupre: Canada