Complications from therapeutic modalities: results of a national survey of athletic trainers1

Nadler SF, Prybicien M, Malanga GA, Sicher D. Complications from therapeutic modalities: results of a national survey of athletic trainers.

Objective:

To understand better the frequency and type of complications encountered by athletic trainers.

Design:

A descriptive questionnaire.

Setting:

Athletic training facilities at the high school, college, and professional levels, as well as physical therapy clinics.

Participants:

A total of 3012 certified athletic trainers employed in above-mentioned settings.

Interventions:

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures:

Frequency and types of complications encountered for different modalities were computed. Primary modality type used and frequency of complications in different settings were explored.

Results:

Of the 3012 surveyed, 905 (30%) responded, 26% of whom reported a complication; 362 total complications were documented. Cryotherapy accounted for 42% of complications, with allergic reactions (n=86), burns (n=23), and intolerance/pain (n=16) most commonly listed. Electric stimulation accounted for 29% of complications, with skin irritation (n=41), burns (n=40), and intolerance/pain (n=18) most commonly listed. Therapeutic heat accounted for 22% of complications; therapeutic exercise accounted for 7% of complications.

Conclusions:

Compared with documented complications in the peer-reviewed literature, our survey results differed vastly with regard to the complications encountered. This may reflect a learning phenomenon, a shift in modality usage, or a general underreporting of complications.