2025 Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 93-100
Objective: This study aims to investigate the completeness of case reports related to musculoskeletal physiotherapy in Japan using the CARE guidelines.
Methods: This study included case reports of Japanese physiotherapy published in 2019. We categorized the participants into musculoskeletal and other fields, and calculated and compared the rate of references that complied with the checklist for each item of the CARE guidelines. Fisherʼs exact test was used for statistical analysis (5% significance level).
Results: Of the 256 cases, 111 (43.4%) were in the musculoskeletal field. Of these, < 50% complied with “item 7; depict important dates and times in the case (table or figure),” “item 10d; adverse and unanticipated events,” and “item 11a; strengths and limitations of the management of this case,” which was statistically significantly lower compared to other fields.
Conclusion: Case reports of musculoskeletal physiotherapy lacked information on “timelines,” “follow-up and outcomes,” and “discussion.”
