Archives of Physiotherapy

Featured article: Developing the content of a locomotor disability scale for adults in Bangladesh

The purpose of this study was to identify disability indicators, suitable for adults in Bangladesh, for a LDS to be used in community settings to measure impact of any LD rehabilitation programme on functioning/disability. Inclusion of items from all aspects of occupational areas (ADL, work, and leisure) and mobility activities and involvement of adults with LDs in identifying disability indicators are expected to enable the proposed LDS to accurately measure disabilities in real life situations.
Though this 70 item LDS is expected to have excellent content validity, its psychometric properties are subject to evaluation in order to accept or reject it as a valid and reliable measure of LDs among adults in Bangladesh.

Aims and scope

Archives of Physiotherapy (formerly Italian Journal of Physiotherapy) is an open access journal disseminating research covering all aspects of physiotherapy. Featured topics include clinical trials in different areas of disability (musculoskeletal, neurological, cardio-pulmonary), diagnostic, measurement-focused, observational, prognostic and qualitative studies, as well as systematic reviews, meta-analyses and case reports. The journal also welcomes Letters to the Editor, which provide thoughtful debate on issues of concern to the physiotherapy profession and related disciplines.

The publication costs for Archives of Physiotherapy are covered by The Italian Society of Physiotherapy (Società Italiana di Fisioterapia, S.I.F.) and The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI).

Information for authors

The publication costs for Archives of Physiotherapy are currently covered by the Italian Society of Physiotherapy (Società Italiana di Fisioterapia, S.I.F.) and The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI).

Featured supplement

5th National Congress of the Italian Society of Physiotherapy: meeting abstracts
Milan, Italy. 3-4 October 2015

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Society information

The Italian Society of Physiotherapy (Società Italiana di Fisioterapia, S.I.F.) was founded in Bologna, May 29, 2010, by more than 150 Italian physiotherapists with the aim to promote scientific activities within the physiotherapy field, and to encourage the dissemination of knowledge and clinical evidence-based practice. Though focused on physiotherapy, the Society is not restricted to physiotherapists but open to professionals of all disciplines who collaborate to the objective of acquiring new elements of knowledge about physiotherapy interventions and therefore share the mission of S.I.F.

The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) is one of the nine professional universities recognised by the Swiss Confederation. Founded under federal law, SUPSI offers more than 30 Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree courses, characterised by cutting edge education which unites classical theoretical-scientific instruction with a professional orientation. Great care is given to research, carried out in key sectors on competitively acquired projects with large European and national agencies or mandated by organisations and institutions.

Founded in 1959, the Italian Association of Physiotherapists (Associazione Italiana Fisioterapisti - AIFI) is the representative organization of the physiotherapy profession at the Ministry of Health of the Italian Government and the Italian member organization of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy. With about 9.000 physiotherapists working in 19 Italian regional areas, AIFI operates as a non-profit organization to promote the role of physiotherapy in improving health and wellbeing, through encouraging high standards of physiotherapy practice, education and research, facilitating communication and information exchange, and collaborating with national and international organizations.

Editor profile

Prof Marco Baccini, Editor-in-Chief

Prof Baccini is Director of the Motion Analysis Laboratory of the Azienda Sanitaria di Firenze, “Piero Palagi” Hospital, in Florence, and Coordinator of the Bachelor in Physical Therapy degree course, Florence University. His research is focused mainly on geriatrics and neurorehabilitation and he has a special interest in biomechanics and cinesiology and in the development and clinical applications of motion analysis techniques and other measurement tools.

"A frequently quoted statement by Dr. Sydney Burwel in 1956 says “My students are dismayed when I say to them: Half of what you are taught as medical students will in 10 years have been shown to be wrong. And the trouble is, none of your teachers knows which half.” I think this statement is still largely true nowadays for rehabilitation and physiotherapy and this highlights the imperative need of research in this field".