Current Practices for the Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients by Physical Therapists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. Physiotherapy, which is an important part of stroke rehabilitation, has been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes but there is no such conclusive evidence that shows any specific rehabilitation protocol being followed. Objective: To find the current practices of physical therapists for the rehabilitation of stroke patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Methodology: A cross study was conducted between November 2021 to April 2022 in which an online questionnaire was distributed to physiotherapists (n = 120) working in different hospitals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The questionnaire acquired. has been adapted from previously conducted study in United states by P Natarajan et al examining stroke rehabilitation protocols. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS 22 version was used for the data analysis. Chi-square test was used to find the association of treatment protocols with experience, age, qualification and gender with P - value of 0.05 as reference. Results: The total calculated sample size was 120 but only 98 participants properly filled the questionnaire and were included in the study. The survey participants were asked about the stroke rehabilitation approaches they had used in their job and the treatment method they had learned in school. It was found that Bobath/NDT and PNF techniques were applied by majority of participants 77(78%), while MRP by N=73(74%), Brunnstorm by N= 54(54%) and Constrained Induced Therapy by N= 38%. Conclusion: Physiotherapists' approaches to treatment in stroke rehabilitation have been seen to differ. Lack of knowledge about the most recent treatment protocols and the lack of agreement on any single treatment method for stroke rehabilitation have been noticed by keeping in view the recent research evidence.