For decades, the field of physiotherapy has been largely confined to the subjective realm. “Manual muscle testing,” which requires physical therapists (PTs) and sports medicine practitioners to use their hands and “feel” to assess a patient’s strength, is still the primary method of teaching and testing.
In recent years, new technology has helped the field evolve to be more objective. Bluetooth-enabled biofeedback devices, like those made by KINVENT, generate highly accurate, quantitative data for tests like the empty can test that typically rely on “feel” and qualitative guesswork. Today, PTs have more tools at their disposal and information at their fingertips than ever before.
These advances have been a boon to PTs and sports medicine practitioners. They have also exponentially increased the number of approaches health professionals can take to treat patients and clients. While these developments are overwhelmingly positive, they have made it slightly more challenging for providers – especially those who still test using analog methods – to made decisions about the most appropriate course of care for patients and clients. Parsing through the growing number of tools, techniques and literature can sometimes feel burdensome to time-strapped providers.
Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) exists to help PTs – and other healthcare providers – review their options and make care decisions. To illuminate the ways PTs and sports medicine providers can use EBP to drive improved patient and client health and performance outcomes, KINVENT wrote an e-book, which explores the concept of EBP and its diagnostic, prognostic, and measurement applications.
What is Evidence-Based Practice?
EBP is both a concept and method. Theoretically EBP posits that all care decisions should be based on scientific evidence, in addition to other, holistic criteria.
The three criteria EBP is based on are:
- Clinical research
- A health professional’s knowledge and expertise
- A patient’s or client’s preferences
Practically, EBP outlines the steps providers should take to seek out and analyze data and balance it their expertise and patient’s or client’s wishes. At a high level, those steps are:
- Formulate a specific, clinically assessable research question about your patient or client
- Review relevant research
- Assess your research based on its level of evidence, credibility and relevancy
- Select the most relevant clinical data, blend it with your expertise and patient’s or client’s preferences, and enact a treatment plan
- Observe and critically assess the results of treatment
When PTs and sports medicine practitioners adhere to EBP methodology – instead of relying on habits and guesswork alone – they can make better informed decisions about the best course of treatment for patients or training for athletic clients.
How KINVENT Helps Physiotherapists Implement EBP
Research and data are foundational to EBP. KINVENT’s suite of biofeedback devices – which includes force plates, a goniometer, an EMG sensor, and hand, hand-held, traction and pneumatic dynamometers – are an asset to PTs at every step of the EBP process, from research to observations.
Research
KINVENT is committed to advancing knowledge surrounding human performance and physiotherapy. Because of this, KINVENT regularly partners with independent research universities, many of which have used KINVENT devices to conduct clinical studies.
The e-book summarizes a selection of these studies, including a comparison between KINVENT’s K-Force Grip and the Jamar Plus hand dynamometer, and an evaluation of the reliability of KINVENT’s K-Move goniometer in assessing wrist proprioception.
Testing
All KINVENT devices are wirelessly connected to the KINVENT Physio App. Within the app, physiotherapists can establish, run and adjust personalized rehabilitation and training programs for patients and clients with ease.
Observations
Precise, numeric data collected during testing is sent to the app in real-time – no guesswork, calculations or spreadsheets are required. The app generates graphs and custom reports instantly, which can be downloaded and shared with extended members of a care or training team with a click of a button.
Drive Improved Health & Performance Outcomes with EBP and KINVENT
Guarantees never exist in physical therapy rehabilitation or athletic training. But, when EBP methodology is applied to a patient’s or client’s care, the likelihood of success increases. With KINVENT, adhering to EBP is easy. And, because patients and clients have access to the app and the precise data generated from tests, they are highly likely to remain engaged in the process – which drives improved outcomes.
For more information about how KINVENT helps PTs and sports medicine practitioners implement EBP in their care, read the e-book.
