000167860 001__ 167860
000167860 005__ 20260121151419.0
000167860 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.18549/PharmPract.2025.3.3233
000167860 0248_ $$2sideral$$a147551
000167860 037__ $$aART-2025-147551
000167860 041__ $$aeng
000167860 100__ $$aAcosta Gomez, Jaime
000167860 245__ $$aHeat therapy in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain: current pharmacy practice and perspectives
000167860 260__ $$c2025
000167860 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted
000167860 5203_ $$aMusculoskeletal pain is a complex condition affecting millions of people worldwide. Even though heat as a form of thermal therapy is often used by healthcare professionals as a treatment option, alone or as a complement to other treatments, there are no specific guidelines and recommendations in the literature on the correct use of this therapy. The aim of this research was to explore the pharmacists’ attitudes and level of knowledge on heat therapy among different EU countries and to identify eventual needs in guidance and training. Methods: An international Board of experts from the participating countries was established to achieve consensus on the questions to be included in the questionnaire. The experts formulated the questions based on their professional experience and the published literature and reached consensus on 20 questions. Questionnaires were disseminated only to pharmacists currently dealing with patients. In order to exclude pharmacists and participants who did not meet this requirement, two questions were inserted at the beginning of the survey. If the respondents answered “no” to one or both of these questions, their answers were excluded from the analysis. Results:Two hundred eighty-one questionnaires were included in our analysis. Heat therapy is a common therapeutical approach recommended by European pharmacists, who often do not find that a referral to other levels of care is necessary. This study identified a clear need for guidance on recommendation principles, such as correct timing and administration, highlighting the need for guidance and training opportunities. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that there are significant opportunities to enhance pharmacists’ education and training on the use of HT. The absence of clear recommendations and a robust scientific foundation for HT underscores the need for specific guidelines. Developing such guidelines is essential to bridging the existing gap in the literature, ensuring that pharmacists are better equipped to advise on the effective and safe use of heat therapy
000167860 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby-nc-nd$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es
000167860 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
000167860 700__ $$aMartins Paulino, Ema Isabel Gouveia
000167860 700__ $$aHotfiel, Thilo
000167860 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0003-3472-072X$$aFanlo Mazas, Pablo$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000167860 700__ $$aMedeiros, Luis Sequeira de
000167860 700__ $$aPieber, Karin
000167860 700__ $$aGiannantonio, Ginevra
000167860 700__ $$aLevantino, Paolo
000167860 7102_ $$11006$$2413$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería$$cÁrea Fisioterapia
000167860 773__ $$g23, 3 (2025), 1-7$$tPharmacy Practice$$x1886-3655
000167860 8564_ $$s436879$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/167860/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada
000167860 8564_ $$s3184161$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/167860/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada
000167860 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:167860$$particulos$$pdriver
000167860 951__ $$a2026-01-21-14:55:08
000167860 980__ $$aARTICLE