Contemporary and Global Perspectives in Physical Therapy

Globally, over 1 billion people live with a disability, and 80% of them are in the 152 low-and middle-income nations worldwide. One of every three people worldwide lives with a health condition that benefits from rehabilitation. Physical therapists are essential members of the rehabilitation team that prevent and manage disabilities. Around the world, the demand for physical therapy services is enormous due to changes in the health status and characteristics of the population. People are living longer but with more chronic diseases and disabilities that require physical therapy. Additionally, many people now live with mild and long-term consequences of COVID-19 and need rehabilitation to recover from the illness. Unfortunately, several countries have no resources to respond to the current rehabilitation needs of individuals with such disorders. In some low- and middle-income countries, more than 50% of people who require rehabilitation services do not receive them.

The causes of death around the world are determined by the per capita income of each nation.  According to the WHO, in 2019, the top ten causes of death in low- and middle-income countries are preventable or treatable conditions - neonatal disorders, lower respiratory infections, ischemic heart disease, stroke, diarrheal diseases, malaria, traffic accidents, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. On the other hand, the top ten causes of death in high-income countries are chronic health conditions - ischemic heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementia, stroke, trachea, bronchus, lung cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections, colon and rectum cancers, kidney diseases, hypertensive heart disease, and diabetes mellitus. 

Improving physical therapy services in low- and middle-income countries will substantially decrease the number of fatalities worldwide. The unique health conditions in low- and middle-income countries are compounded by poverty, socio-political unrest, and limited infrastructure in clinical settings. For example, a patient with spinal cord injury will have a better chance of achieving the highest level of function in high-income countries with adequate access to health care, employment opportunities, and wheelchair-accessible roads and buildings than in low- and middle-income countries where such infrastructures are limited. 

The top-tier physical therapy books are written in high-income countries with well-developed health systems. Practicing physical therapy in low- and middle-income countries requires special knowledge and skills not enunciated in books published in high-income countries.  This textbook presents a robust, comprehensive, evidence-based review and analysis of physical therapy's efficacy in managing several lifestyle-triggered diseases, but it also covers acute injuries due to fractures and falls in older adults, common chronic diseases, such as osteoarthritis, type 1 diabetes, including pediatric conditions such as cerebral palsy, poliomyelitis, and autism spectrum disorders.

This compendium consists of 43 chapters divided into ten sections written by a multidisciplinary team of 48 frontline academicians and clinicians from diverse disciplines and specialties. The first section focuses on orthopedic physical therapy and describes various conditions, such as knee arthroplasty, hip arthroplasty, low back pain, fractures, and osteoarthritis. The following section describes pediatric conditions amenable to physical therapy. The third section discusses neurology physical therapy, covering topics such as motor learning, stroke rehabilitation, mild cognitive impairment, cervicogenic headache, and Parkinson's disease rehabilitation. The fourth section focuses on cardiovascular and pulmonary physical therapy, including a comprehensive approach to the management of dual malnutrition   and diabetes mellitus, and anthropometric assessment. The fifth section discusses oncologic physical therapy and pharmacology, while the sixth section focuses on geriatric physical therapy. The seventh section presents pelvic health physical therapy. The last three sections include chapters on clinical electrophysiology, complementary and alternative medicine practices, and eclectic and topical topics of interest in physical therapy.

Written by experts in the field, this book contains up-to-date, evidence-based information on specific topics in physical therapy, with particular emphasis on the practical challenges associated with practicing in low-resource environments and low- and middle-income nations. It engages the interest of policymakers and individuals with research and programmatic interest in low- and middle-income countries. It is a valuable textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate physical therapy students and students in related fields, such as speech and occupational therapy and medical students in many parts of the world.