“We have prepared concrete solutions to help with the rehabilitation of patients with osteoarthritis,” explained Tine Kovačič, head of the doctoral study program Physiotherapy at Alma Mater Europaea – ECM and president of the Slovenian Association of Physiotherapists. He also emphasized that prevention and early treatment are crucial to tackling the growing health and economic burden of osteoarthritis. “In total, 520 million people worldwide are suffering from osteoarthritis. Together with our physiotherapy students and mentors, we designed an individualized therapeutic exercise program that reduces the risk of knee injuries by up to 50 percent and can help prevent osteoarthritis,” added Kovačič.

The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the health condition of patients with osteoarthritis. Physiotherapy is crucial in the treatment of this disease. “The job of a physiotherapist is to help patients with treatment, such as through using movement therapy and physical agents, as well as education. The students prepared a lecture on osteoarthritis for this year’s World Physiotherapy Day. “We want to inform people about the symptoms of osteoarthrosis, how it is diagnosed, common problems, and treatment options,” noted student Tine Šket. Under the mentorship of Tatjana Horvat, they also conducted a guided group exercise on activities to eliminate problems resulting from the disease. “We also gave patients the option of free treatment with hiTop therapy, which we offer at our Terapija Institute. It is an excellent treatment for osteoarthritis,” he added.

Alma Mater Europaea runs physiotherapy study programs at all levels. “We run study programs that are the most important for society and the workplace. With the aging of the population, there are more older people needing physiotherapy. In Slovenia, unfortunately, we lag significantly behind in the number of physiotherapists and accessibility to treatments. During their studies, our physiotherapy students provide assistance with these social problems through numerous charity projects,” stressed Barbara Toplak Perovič, general secretary of Alma Mater Europaea – ECM. She highlighted the projects: “From birth to walking,” “Treatments for young prospective sportsmen and women,” “Digitization of physiotherapy,” and “Assistance in providing physiotherapy in homes for the elderly.”

The Center for Medical Rehabilitation of Health Center Dr. Adolf Drolc Maribor is seeing an increase in the number of patients diagnosed with osteoarthrosis. “The reasons are both the aging of the population and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The disease also affects the younger population and recreational athletes. There are more and more referrals for

physiotherapy treatment, so waiting times are getting longer. We have already brought this issue to the attention of the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia and proposed expanding the program and granting new concessions. This would allow patients to be treated within the allowable waiting time,” explained Alen Pavlec, head of physiotherapy at the Center for Medical Rehabilitation of Health Center Dr. Adolf Drolc Maribor.

As future experts, physiotherapy students at Alma Mater have recently provided regular physiotherapy sessions outdoors, in the city park and other green areas, under the guidance of lecturers Tatjana Horvat, Mladen Herc, and Tine Kovačič. These help patients to recover successfully, restore their functional capacities and, last but not least, improve their quality of life.

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