Physiotherapy in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Comparison of Bases for Treatment between Japan and Sweden

Abstract

Questionnaires were posted to 220 Japanese physiotherapists to investigate on what their choice of treatment was based for stroke clients and to compare these results with those from Sweden. As in Sweden, the respondents attached most importance to ‘hands-on’ experience working with clients and to participation in practical courses in which they learned various techniques. Among the treatment methods taught during the respondents’ basic training, only Bobath's method commonly continued to be used after graduation in both countries. Asked to treat a client with right hemiparesis, the majority of Japanese respondents chose functionally meaningful movement of the right side, whereas the Swedish respondents preferred weight bearing on the affected side. The attitude of physiotherapists towards new methods of treatment revealed that 77% of the Japanese respondents and 91% of those in Sweden were interested. This could imply that Japanese physiotherapists are already satisfied with their choice of treatments and are not looking for new approaches to treatment. It appears that it takes more time for foreign-developed methods to be introduced and accepted in Japan than it does in Sweden. This suggests that the availability of post-registration courses on newer approaches to stroke management may be limited in Japan.