UK physiotherapists' perceptions on providing face-to-face and virtual rehabilitation for patients with Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS): A cross-sectional survey

Background: Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) is a prevalent and debilitating cause of lateral hip pain. Physiotherapists often prescribe exercises and educate patients on self-management strategies. Virtual consultations have increased since COVID-19. Rehabilitating patients with GTPS virtually may offer benefits to patients and healthcare providers.

Objectives: Understand physiotherapists' perceived effectiveness of providing rehabilitation for people with GTPS virtually compared to face-to-face.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Methods: An internet-based survey was distributed via Twitter (now X). The survey included participant characteristics and 5-point Likert scales to rate the perceived effectiveness (higher score is more effective) of each consult method to deliver treatments for GTPS. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated to compare effectiveness between consultation types.

Results: 54 physiotherapists responded. Overall, physiotherapists felt they were more effective at managing patients face-to-face compared to virtually with median scores of 5 (IQR 4-5) to 3 (IQR 2-4) respectively (P < 0.001). Physiotherapists rated themselves more effective at delivering exercise interventions and most educational components face-to-face compared to virtually. Coaching exercises and checking exercise technique received the lowest rating with virtual consults. Higher levels of post-graduate education and confidence in technology were associated with higher perceptions of virtual consults (P < 0.05). There has been a significant increase in virtual practice since COVID-19 (P < 0.001), despite few physiotherapists receiving training.

Conclusion: Physiotherapists rated themselves as more effective in treating patients with GTPS face-to-face compared to virtually in almost all aspects of rehabilitation. However, virtual consultations still scored highly in self-management support and specific aspects of exercise and education.