Guidelines for Physical Therapy in Physically Disabled Schizophrenic Patients

The purpose of this study was to attempt to classify physically disabled schizophrenic patients from the aspect of the physical therapy outcome, and to utilize this classification for the establishment of guidelines and therapeutic strategies in these patients. A cluster analysis was performed to evaluating patient's psychosis according to an original psychosis assessment scale. The final motor function was assumed as the physical therapy outcome, and putative influencing factors were obtained. Herein we show that three factors, namely age, initial motor function, and decreasing activity, are important to estimate the physical therapy outcomes in these patients. Considering these factors, together with an assessment of the psychosis of the patients, we have classified physically disabled schizophrenic patients into three types to achieve the best therapeutic outcome of their physical therapy.