A produção de conhecimento em fisioterapia: análise de periódicos nacionais (1996 a 2009)

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the production of knowledge from one area may facilitate the understanding of their identity as well as pointing out which direction is traveling. OBJECTIVE: To determine which area of studies and greater occurrence of descriptors in articles published in magazines at physiotherapy in periodicals of national circulation. METHOD: This is a documental research with a qualitative approach through content analysis. We included abstracts from journals of physiotherapy Brazilians, ranked higher or equal to B2 in WebQualis and free access to the website. With these criteria was selected: Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy and Physical Therapy in Movement, from 1996 to 2009. The items discussed were: keywords and study area. We used the program to count words TextStat. RESULTS: We analyzed 726 articles. Areas of study occurred more frequently orthopedics, neurology, pulmonology and pediatrics, which together comprise 65% of production in physical therapy, and orthopedics, alone accounts for 36% of the studies. In relation to the keyword, the prevalence was highest descriptor physiotherapy, followed by elderly and physical activity. Discussion: As for area studies, especially considering the practice of orthopedics physical therapist that has historically focused on hospitals and rehabilitation clinics under the supervision of the orthopedic doctors and seeking its independence a second time. In relation to the descriptors, the highest frequency of the word therapy should be reassessed by the researchers, because it reflects the content of studies. CONCLUSION: The scientific production in orthopedics was more frequent, reflecting the largest professional performance.