Psychosocial complaints and physical therapy

The aim of this study was to describe the disorders and the treatment of patients whose complaints were evaluated as being solely somatic in nature, as being somatic and having psychosocial consequences, or as being (at least partially) of a psychosocial origin. Data were used from a survey on physical therapy in Dutch primary health care, in which physical therapists collected data on their patients using a standardised registration form. The therapists evaluated approximately two-thirds of their patients' complaints as solely somatic, about one-sixth as having psychosocial consequences and about one-sixth as being at least partially of psychosocial origin. Systematic differences were found between these categories of patients with regard to the medical diagnosis, the physical therapist’s diagnosis (in terms of impairments and disabilities) and the treatment. It is concluded that, in addressing the issue of physical therapy in patients with psychosocial complaints, one should make a distinction between complaints of psychosocial origin and complaints with psychosocial consequences. Furthermore, the therapeutic goals and interventions applied in patients with psychosocial complaints clearly belong to the domain of physical therapy.