OBJECTIVES: To analyze knowledge production related to physiotherapy through the analysis of Postgraduate thesis and dissertation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study is a content analysis based on two categories: subjects and keywords. Keywords were analyzed only if they appeared more than 5 times, this frequency was verified through TextSTAT software. The following postgraduate courses were included: Science of Rehabilitation from University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Physiotherapy from Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and Science of Rehabilitation from University of São Paulo (USP). All studies from these Postgraduate programs available on internet sites were analyzed. RESULTS: We verified 219 studies, Orthopedics was the most prevalent subject, followed by Pulmonology and Pediatrics. In relation to keywords, physical activity presented the highest prevalence, followed by elderly, physiotherapy and gait. CONCLUSION: After analyzing part of the knowledge production in physiotherapy, we concluded that Orthopedics subject is in evidence, this reflects a greater production in this area which is also considered the largest professional area. The studies could be characterized as one dimensional since it generally envolves only one knowledge area, not allowing other point of views to interfere in the same analyzed aspect. Furtheremore, there seems to be a scarcity of studies related to social aspects, since no studies related to this topic were found.
Knowledge; Research; Dissertation; Thesis; Epistemology
