PREVALENCE OF THUMB PROBLEMS IN THE PHYSICAL THERAPISTS OF ALEXANDRIA-EGYPT

Background: Work-related injuries to the thumb area have become a well-recognized problem of physical therapists that use various manual techniques in the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal disorders, which can lead to a change in the conduct of treatment technique, changes in the choice of treatment technique, reduction in working hours. , Reduction in the number of patients treated. Objective: To determine the prevalence of thumb problem in physical therapists of Alexandria-Egypt. Study Design: a descriptive, cross-sectional study in a clinical setting Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at different physical therapy clinical setups of Alexandria-Egypt. To collect data from the concerned participants, 100 questionnaires were distributed using convenience sampling. All participants responded positively, in which 65 were male and 35 were female. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure the pain. Quick DASH to measure functional disability, Pinch gague to measure thumb power. SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: Results showed that 48(48%) subjects have thumb pain while 52(52%) do not experience thumb pain. Onehundred physical therapists participated in this study. They recruited from different hospitals and health care institutions in Alexandria-Egypt , age of the study group was 29.82 ± 3.02 years with a minimum of 27 years and a maximum of 42 years. Conclusion: The prevalence of thumb problems in physical therapist of Alexandria-Egypt appears to be high and can be of sufficient severity to impact on careers.