Patients suffering from rheumatic disease describing own experiences from participating in Basic Body Awareness Group Therapy: A qualitative pilot study

Abstract

ABSTRACTBackground: Rheumatic diseases have physical and psychological impact on patients’ movement and function. Basic Body Awareness Therapy focuses on promoting more functional movement quality in daily life. The purpose of this study was to describe patient experiences from participating in Basic Body Awareness Group Therapy for inpatients with rheumatic disease. Methods: A phenomenological design included data collection in two focus group interviews with seven patients. Giorgi’s four-step phenomenological method was used for data analysis. Results: Four main themes emerged: (1) “Movement exploration—being guided in movement” described informants’ exploration of bodily signals and movement habits; (2) “Movement awareness training in a relational perspective” informants described experiences from being in a group setting; (3) “Movement awareness—integration and insight” described informants’ reflections on movement experiences; and (4) “Integrating and practicing new movement habits” informants described how they used their movement experiences in daily life. Conclusions: The study described perspectives in movement learning experienced by patients. The results support the view that contact with the body can help patients exploring and cultivating their own resources for a more functional movement quality. Descriptions of relational movement learning aspects can contribute to our understanding of physiotherapy group design.