Implementation of exercises and physical activity as a preventative management strategy in public health, which is in turn connected to undergraduate teaching in order to place physiotherapists as exercise experts in clinical practice, has become one of the essential areas for building comprehensive knowledge in a physiotherapy education program. As physiotherapists are experts in biomechanics, with a knowledge of pathology and its effects on body systems, they are the ideal professionals to meet the challenge of ensuring exercise expertise. An exercise therapy course could develop the content of the entry-level curriculum (BSc degree) in physiotherapy professional education programs to meet the current national and international needs of healthcare professionals who promote, guide and manage effective exercise strategies. In addition, the implementation of this course would improve the services provided by physiotherapy graduates in healthcare, thus emphasising the significant role of exercise as a physiotherapy intervention in prevention and management. Key to this process is analysing and reviewing existing physical activity and exercise therapy course and reporting the topics that will need to be implemented in the undergraduate physiotherapy program in KAU. Implementation of this course in the undergraduate curriculum requires the engagement of academic staff, clinical tutors in the physical therapy department, Faculty of Applied Medical Science (FAMS), KAU and community health centre staff, in order to establish and deliver the course content to students via lectures, lab sessions and clinical visits.
Cost-effectiveness of physical activity and exercise therapy programs for knee osteoarthritis: making the case for health plan coverage
