The THERA concept offers extensive expertise to all facilities involved with active rehabilitation and patient care on the basis of the latest evidence. At the heart of the concept are practice-oriented guidelines for action that facilitate goal-oriented use of THERA-Trainer products across all phases of rehabilitation. This is based on the latest scientific findings taking account of all adjoining areas.

Nowadays, in physiotherapy, it is crucial to have up-to-date knowledge. Treatments must be increasingly efficient and economical. The effectiveness of therapeutic measures is tested in studies to ensure that the best possible quality of care is given. This evidence-based practice approach is becoming increasingly popular. Despite the fact that physiotherapeutic research is still new in comparison with other branches of research, evidence-based practice has been in demand and actively encouraged for several years.
Evidence-based practice should bring the individual experiences of the therapists and the wishes and needs of the patients in line with current scientific and research findings (see THERAPY 1-2017). A critical examination of the effectiveness of the measures implemented is crucial to improve the quality of treatment and generate the best possible results. This is carried out on the basis of scientific studies. The results can determine which measures and procedures can be deemed as therapeutically effective and superior. The quality of the studies is crucial here. Randomised controlled trials (RCT) are generally used along with meta-analyses. Meta-analyses are procedures that quantitatively combine the findings from several studies with the same research question.
Guidelines have been developed to translate current findings from clinical research into practice. The knowledge gained from the wide variety of studies is summarised and recommendations are made to ensure best practice. Field and Lohr define clinical treatment guidelines as “systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances” (Field, Lohr 1992). The first guidelines for rehabilitation of neurological patients were published around
10 years ago and have since been constantly expanded and adapted with new findings.
The THERA concept is mainly based on the recommendations of the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy (KNGF) and the German Society of Neurorehabilitation (DGNR) [1-2]. Both organisations recently published high-quality clinical practice guidelines for the rehabilitation of stroke patients that reflect current scientific knowledge and have impressed due to their practicability.