The hotspots and trends of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and physical therapy: a bibliometric and visual analysis

[Purpose] With the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more articles have been published to explore the role of physical therapy on COVID-19. In order to analyze the research hotspots and the trends of physical therapy and COVID-19, we conducted bibliometric and visual analysis. [Methods] Data were collected from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) of the Web of Science Core Collect (WoSCC) from 2019 to 2021. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to perform the visual analysis of keywords and references to help quickly get key information. [Results] A total of 466 publications were retrieved. Exercise, sedentary behavior, and mental health were research hotspots. The relationship between exercise and immunity, as well as the management of COVID-19 patients after discharge were the research trends. [Conclusion] This study provided relevant information for future research. Findings suggested that physical therapy is beneficial for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients during isolation. It is hoped that academic exchanges can be quickly established in the face of infectious diseases. And in the future, we should focus on the rehabilitation of discharged patients.