Use of Creative Activities in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

Abstract

Objective: A survey was performed to study the use of creativity in the field of physiotherapy and rehabilitation. There has been little research on this topic in Turkey and only a few studies are reported to have used music therapy for children. Therefore, the present study aimed to perform a similar survey as conducted in Sweden.
Methods: In this study, we sent a survey to physiotherapists in İstanbul via email. Recorded data included sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, and education) of the physiotherapists; where and how long they had been working; the specialties of the physicians that they work with; whether they continued training/education after graduation, and if so how did they maintain their studies; whether/how often they involve creative activities in the treatment sessions; which activities they prefer; whether they get any negative reaction from patients or colleagues while applying the creative activities; and whether they apply any treatment method other than conventional methods.
Results: According to the results of the study, 59% of the physiotherapists benefit from using creative activities during their sessions. While 21% of them use handcrafts, 19% make use of computer games, 8% take advantage of music/theater activities, 6% use exercise painting, and 2% use practice gardening.
Conclusion: There has been no previous study on this topic in Turkey, this study provides insight into existing practices and may encourage further use of creative methods in therapy. Further studies should expand on the experience of physiotherapists concerning the benefits of creative activities.