Function can be measured either performance-based or self-reported. The latter is assessed by means of a generic or disease specific instrument, and only recently the hemophilia activities list (HAL) became the first disease specific questionnaire on haemophilia [99]. The functional independent scale of hemophilia (FISH) is the only performance-based instrument that evaluates whole tasks [100]. There are numerous examples of ‘functional tests’, often used in physiotherapy such as walking tests (e.g. 50 metre walking test at preferred speed), get up & go, shuttle walk and run tests etc. Unfortunately, none of them is used in haemophilia research for
extended follow-up tasks. When the management stratagems from different countries around the world for control of a chronic condition or see more disease are collated into one ideological framework, potential
discrepancies are likely to occur based in part on the myriad of health care systems and networks that are in existence. Perhaps this statement resonates more clearly with haemophilia than with any other disease state. When attempting to define management techniques as ‘state of the art’, variables outside of the control of the therapist such as economics, patient registries, levels of education and training of clinical staff, basic availability of dedicated staff to treat PWH, and political systems can have a significant Ku 0059436 and realistically MCE公司 limiting effect. The World Federation of Hemophilia has estimated that 75% of the global population of people with bleeding disorders receives either inadequate treatment or no treatment whatsoever [101]. Based purely on the financial cost of the most advanced medical and pharmaceutical technologies, this statistic seems unlikely to change. The clear advantage of excellence
in musculoskeletal management is the fact that it is far less expensive, and far more amenable to being taught to patients and caregivers to perform on their own at home. Measurable improvement of joint and muscle status of the global haemophilia community is an attainable goal. Although many factors related to haemophilia care vary from country to country, the anatomical structure of joints and muscles is constant. The critical component is thorough assessment, which becomes the touchstone for design of the treatment programme. The international community of physiotherapists represented in this study, who work with PWH, have carried this message consistently whether it be applied to flexibility training, strength, sensorimotor retraining, balance or functional exercise. Designing an effective exercise programme requires understanding of the cause of injury, functional anatomy, the science of the various elements of exercise and tissue healing, and perhaps most importantly – of the patient involved.