Background and purpose: The aim of this study was to quantify and assess the types of research and review articles published in physiotherapy professional journals with international circulations.
Method: Selected articles from nine physiotherapy journals in a period of five years were classified according to their study design.
Results: A total number of 1627 articles were included in this study of which 205 (12.60%) were randomized controlled trial (RCT). Articles published with the highest frequency were 'observational/descriptive studies' (n = 305, 18.75%), whereas 'meta-analyses' were the rarest ones (n = 21, 1.29%). Many articles were validation studies (n = 216, 13.28%) and articles classified as 'others' (n = 217, 13.34%). High heterogeneity was found in terms of distribution over years and journals with an improvement of the number of RCTs among years.
Conclusion: The distribution of different types of article in physiotherapy journals is similar to other disciplines. The improvement of RCTs represents an important move in the right direction for evidence-based physiotherapy research.