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Healthcare
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Role of Physiotherapy in Promoting Physical Activity and Well-Being
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Role of Physiotherapy in Promoting Physical Activity and Well-Being

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Chronic Care".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 5957

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Evdokia Billis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physiotherapy, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: physiotherapy; physical activity; well-being; quality of life; exercise; physical health; mental health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Although the physiotherapy profession is concerned with human function and movement, addressing acute and/or chronic conditions, mobility dysfunctions, and/or pain, mostly arising from the musculoskeletal, neurological, and/or cardiorespiratory systems, its scope over the last decade has broadened. As the biopsychosocial model of care has evolved and been adopted by most medical and allied professions, physiotherapy has taken a more holistic approach, addressing and affecting not only the physical but also the mental and emotional components of their patients. In addition, current evidence on lifestyle factors, such as sleeping quality, sedentary jobs, eating habits, bodyweight, smoking, etc., has been found to affect overall function and recovery. As a result, the role of physiotherapy is being extended into one that promotes both physical activity as well as well-being.

Physical activity in its broadest context refers to any movement produced by skeletal muscles requiring energy consumption and encompasses both exercise and any incidental or programmed activity of any intensity (low, medium, high). Physical activity can be evaluated through a gross range of physical performance tests, functional tests, as well as various context-specific questionnaires. Wellbeing (or well-being), on the other hand, refers to what is intrinsically valuable for someone, his/her self-interest(s), often referred to as wellness or prosperity, taking various forms, such as mental, physical, emotional, or even economic wellbeing, and is usually assessed by a gross variety of self-reported questionnaires targeting the particular ‘wellbeing context’ being explored.

So, both these concepts (physical activity and positive wellbeing) are being promoted by physiotherapists as they both have a large impact on people’s physical and mental health and on both the context of the management of his/her disease/pathology/dysfunction and the prevention/maintenance of healthy living.

We are, therefore, pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, which aims to highlight the role of physiotherapy in promoting physical activity and wellbeing.  

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Systematic/scoping reviews or clinical trials on physiotherapy/rehabilitation interventions promoting physical activity and/or well-being;
  • Physiotherapy assessment/validation tools for physical activity and/or well-being;
  • Cross-cultural outcomes utilized by physiotherapists for evaluating physical activity and/or aspects of wellness.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Evdokia Billis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • physiotherapy
  • physical activity
  • well-being (wellbeing)
  • quality of life
  • exercise
  • physical health
  • mental health

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 311 KiB  
Article
Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Reliability, and Validity of the Greek Version of the Fremantle Neck Awareness Questionnaire (FreNAQ-GR) in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain
by George A. Koumantakis, Faidra Nikolaki, Foteini Kefalaki, Petros I. Tatsios, Eleftherios Paraskevopoulos and Sotiria Vrouva
Healthcare 2024, 12(19), 1985; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12191985 - 5 Oct 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1007
Abstract
Background: Neck self-awareness, related to sensorimotor dysfunction, can be monitored with the Fremantle Neck Awareness Questionnaire (FreNAQ). The cross-cultural adaptation of the FreNAQ in Greek (FreNAQ-GR) and an assessment of its psychometric properties were conducted. Methods: This study included 104 participants (65 female) [...] Read more.
Background: Neck self-awareness, related to sensorimotor dysfunction, can be monitored with the Fremantle Neck Awareness Questionnaire (FreNAQ). The cross-cultural adaptation of the FreNAQ in Greek (FreNAQ-GR) and an assessment of its psychometric properties were conducted. Methods: This study included 104 participants (65 female) with non-specific chronic neck pain (NSCNP). Once the cross-cultural adaptation process of the FreNAQ-GR was complete, the testing of its construct validity was conducted via an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The construct validity examination also included a correlational analysis with a Pain Intensity Visual Analogue Scale (PI-VAS), the Neck Disability Index (NDI), the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and demographics. The internal consistency of the FreNAQ-GR was also examined. A sub-sample of participants (n = 30) completed the FreNAQ-GR again after 5–7 days. Results: The dataset was appropriate for EFA (measure of sampling adequacy KMO = 0.763 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity p < 0.001). The FreNAQ-GR demonstrated a single-factor 6-item structure (items 7–9 removed), explaining 53.69% of the common variance. Statistically significant correlations (Spearman’s) were registered between the FreNAQ-GR (both versions) and the NDI (r = 0.33/0.29, p < 0.001), the TSK (r = 0.46/0.41, p < 0.001), and the PCS (r = 0.37/0.33, p < 0.001). For the 9-item and the 6-item FreNAQ-GR, the internal consistency (Chronbach’s a/McDonald’s ω) was 0.80/0.79 and 0.826/0.816, respectively. The test–retest reliability was excellent for both versions ICC2,1 (95% CI) = 0.98/0.98 (0.97–0.99/0.95–0.99), with low error values SEM = 0.90/0.74 and MDC95% = 2.49/2.05 points. Conclusions: The FreNAQ-GR is suitable for assessing neck self-awareness in Greek-speaking patients with NSCNP. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Physiotherapy in Promoting Physical Activity and Well-Being)
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10 pages, 259 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Maria Tsekoura, Zacharias Dimitriadis, Andreas Gridelas, Argiro Sakellaropoulou and Georgios Kolokithas
Healthcare 2024, 12(19), 1963; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12191963 - 1 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2179
Abstract
Background: Postmenopausal women frequently encounter a range of symptoms, including fatigue, diminished physical strength, reduced energy levels, vasomotor symptoms such as hot flushes, and vaginal atrophy, all of which adversely affect their overall quality of life. Engaging in physical activity and structured exercise [...] Read more.
Background: Postmenopausal women frequently encounter a range of symptoms, including fatigue, diminished physical strength, reduced energy levels, vasomotor symptoms such as hot flushes, and vaginal atrophy, all of which adversely affect their overall quality of life. Engaging in physical activity and structured exercise may effectively alleviate these symptoms and enhance overall well-being. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical activity and quality of life in postmenopausal Greek women. Methods: This cross-sectional clinical study included 219 postmenopausal women. Women with natural menopause for at least 12 consecutive months were enrolled in this descriptive, cross-sectional study. The female participants were asked to fill out the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form (IPAQ), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the EuroQol (EQ-5D-5L) instrument. Anthropometric measurements included weight, height, and waist circumference measurements. Results: A total of 219 postmenopausal women with an age of 61.4 ± 6.1 years and body mass index (BMI) of 25.6 ± 3.7 kg/m2 were studied. Out of the total postmenopausal women studied, 64.8% were physically active. The mean value of MET-min/week was M = 1383.46 ± 1030.12. Physical activity among postmenopausal Greek women showed a strong correlation of PA with quality of life (r = 0.5; p ≤ 0.001) and age (r = 0.55; p ≤ 0.001) and a medium correlation with the HADS (r = 0.4; p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: There was a 64.8% prevalence of physically active postmenopausal Greek women. The findings underscore the significance of fostering physical activity and quality of life among postmenopausal women to formulate efficacious therapeutic interventions. The results demonstrate a correlation between physical activity and the age of female participants, quality of life, and the HADS and can be used to improve postmenopausal women’s physical activity levels, which is recommended as a strategy for improving the quality of life in postmenopausal women. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Physiotherapy in Promoting Physical Activity and Well-Being)

Other

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12 pages, 198 KiB  
Perspective
The Pharmacists of Physical Activity: Physiotherapists Empowering Older Adults’ Autonomy in the Self-Management of Aging with and Without Persistent Conditions
by Mike Studer, Kent Edward Irwin and Mariana Wingood
Healthcare 2025, 13(7), 834; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13070834 - 6 Apr 2025
Viewed by 489
Abstract
Aging has been thought to be factual, inherited, and obligatory. However, aging can be divided into primary (i.e., inevitable physiological changes) and secondary (i.e., age-associated changes driven by life choices, environment, and society) aging. The impact of social norms and life choices is [...] Read more.
Aging has been thought to be factual, inherited, and obligatory. However, aging can be divided into primary (i.e., inevitable physiological changes) and secondary (i.e., age-associated changes driven by life choices, environment, and society) aging. The impact of social norms and life choices is why no two 70-year-olds look the same. The life choice that appears to have the strongest impact on aging is physical activity. Research continues to highlight the power of mitigating age-related losses via physical activity and debunking the notion that age-related changes such as falls, frailty, and functional decline are inevitable. Physiotherapists are the healthcare professionals who reverse or slow down age-related changes and prevent secondary aging from occurring. Physiotherapists are the health profession’s experts in movement science, whose interventions primarily center around physical activity as medicine. Thus, physiotherapists function as pharmacists of physical activity and are well-positioned to prescribe the dosages needed for wellness promotion as well as disease prevention and management. This paper provides guidance from the perspective of the physiotherapist on exercise prescription most optimal and consumable for an older population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Physiotherapy in Promoting Physical Activity and Well-Being)
16 pages, 299 KiB  
Study Protocol
Physical Activity Component of the Greek Interventional Geriatric Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (GINGER): Protocol Development and Feasibility Study
by Evdokia Billis, Eftychia Nastou, Sofia Lampropoulou, Maria Tsekoura, Eleni Dimakopoulou, Nikolaos Mastoras, Ioanna-Maria Fragiadaki, Eleftherios Siopis, Nikolaos Michalopoulos, Paraskevi Sakka, Maria Koula, Maria Basta and Panagiotis Alexopoulos
Healthcare 2024, 12(22), 2282; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12222282 - 15 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1400
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) have an increased risk of developing dementia, while non-pharmacological multicomponent lifestyle interventions are recommended for prevention/management. The Greek Interventional Geriatric Initiative to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (GINGER) is such a multicomponent approach, encompassing simultaneous interventions [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) have an increased risk of developing dementia, while non-pharmacological multicomponent lifestyle interventions are recommended for prevention/management. The Greek Interventional Geriatric Initiative to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (GINGER) is such a multicomponent approach, encompassing simultaneous interventions (cognitive training, depression and sleep management, etc.). Exercise/Physical activity (PA) is suggested as one such intervention. This study (i) presents the exercise protocol developed for GINGER and (ii) explores its feasibility (acceptability, applicability, adherence, users’ satisfaction and reliability). Methods: Exercise/PA protocol development, targeting SCD individuals aged > 55 years, utilized relevant guidelines/literature followed by focus group involving exercise specialists. Data were synthesized through consensus to design optimal exercise interventions prescribed on participant’s physical capacity (heart rate, exertion, etc.), comprising 6-month combined aerobic, strengthening, balance and dual-task exercises, delivered 3 times/weekly in two group-based supervised sessions (in-person and online) and one home-based session. Physical outcomes include balance, aerobic capacity [2-Minute Walk Test (2 MWT), IPAQ-7], strength [Hand Grip Strength (HGS), Sit-to-Stand], fear of falling. Eligibility for entering intervention is low IPAQ-7, 2 MWT or HGS scoring. Feasibility was explored with adherence (exercise diaries and Exercise Adherence Rating Scale) and satisfaction (Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire) Results: Intervention was easily delivered with good reliability across testers’ assessments on 13 SCD participants (ICCs = 0.62–0.99), and improved physical outcomes, whereas users’ adherence and satisfaction scored highly. Conclusions: The exercise protocol for SCD was feasible, acceptable, applicable, reliable, demonstrating adherence and satisfaction, while improving physical parameters. It is thus integrated in the GINGER study, where multiple simultaneous interventions will take place to prevent/enhance cognitive function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Physiotherapy in Promoting Physical Activity and Well-Being)
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