Prevalence of psychological distress among patients at a physical therapy clinic specializing in sports medicine

To assess the frequency with which patients at an orthopedic physical therapy clinic specializing in sports medicine experience clinically meaningful psychological distress, 200 consecutive patients were administered a standardized measure of psychopathology. Patients varied in terms of diagnosis, stage of rehabilitation, and level of athletic involvement. The physical therapist and athletic trainer responsible for the rehabilitation of a patient rated a patient's behavior during rehabilitation sessions. Approximately 19% of patients reported a clinical level of psychological distress. Most patients demonstrated few overt signs of a maladaptive psychological response to injury. The physical therapist or athletic trainer rating was not significantly correlated with a patient's self‐reported psychological distress. It was concluded that psychological distress occurs infrequently among patients at a sports medicine clinic, but with sufficient regularity to warrant concern.