How Do Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers Maintain Their Physical Fitness? A Descriptive Survey Study.

Background: Physical therapists and athletic trainers play an important role in promoting physical activity to patients and may utilize the 2018 United States Physical Activity Guidelines (PAG). Currently, there is little data regarding how physical therapists and athletic trainers maintain their personal fitness based upon these guidelines.

Purpose: To analyze how physical therapists and athletic trainers maintain their physical fitness based upon the 2018 United States Physical Activity Guidelines.

Study design: Cross-sectional descriptive survey.

Methods: A 20-question electronic survey was emailed to members of the Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapy and National Athletic Trainers Association. Professionals were also informed through a recruitment post in different private healthcare Facebook® groups. Survey inclusion criteria included respondents being a physical therapist or athletic trainer and being in clinical practice. Respondents were excluded if they did not meet the inclusions. The 2018 PAG were used as a minimum standard comparison for respondents to report their physical activity. The survey was developed using Qualtrics and underwent two rounds of pilot testing to establish face validity. The survey covered respondent demographics, exercise behaviors, reasons for exercise, exercise programming and assessment, exercise barriers, monitoring health & wellness, and respondent satisfaction with how they have maintained their own physical fitness. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate total responses, frequency count, and percentages.

Results: One thousand one hundred and forty seven professionals (Women =58%, N= 665; Men = 41%, N=472; other = 1%, N=10) (mean age = 48 ± 15.75 years-old) completed the survey. Most respondents (~ 82%) reported meeting or exceeding the PAG for aerobic and muscle-strengthening while using an integrated exercise approach with self-guided workouts (73%) in different settings such as home (65%) or fitness facility (30%). Respondents dedicated an average of 14 hours per week to exercise. A smaller portion of respondents did not meet the PAG and reported displeasure with their current fitness program which may be related to different exercise barriers such as work schedule, lack of time, family commitments, low intrinsic motivation, and lack of energy.

Conclusion: These survey results provide insight into how physical therapists and athletic trainers maintain their physical fitness. The majority of respondents demonstrated good exercise behaviors by exceeding or meeting the 2018 PAG while a smaller portion did not meet the guidelines due to various exercise barriers and displeasure. Future research should investigate strategies to help professionals find optimal work-life balance and time for weekly physical activity.

Level of evidence: 3.