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. 2020 Dec;28(5):266-274.
doi: 10.1080/10669817.2020.1720948. Epub 2020 Feb 7.

Use of thrust joint manipulation by student physical therapists in the United States during clinical education experiences

Marie B Corkery  1 , Craig P Hensley  2 , Christopher Cesario  1 , Sheng-Che Yen  1 , Kevin Chui  3 , Carol Courtney  2
Affiliations

Use of thrust joint manipulation by student physical therapists in the United States during clinical education experiences

Marie B Corkery et al. J Man Manip Ther. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Thrust joint manipulation (TJM) is used in physical therapy practice and taught in entry-level curricula in the United States (US); however, research regarding implementation by student physical therapists (SPT)s is scarce. Objectives: To explore the use of TJM in SPT clinical education and factors influencing implementation. Methods: In a cross-sectional exploratory study, accredited physical therapy (PT) programs in the US (n = 227) were invited to participate in an electronic survey. SPTs were queried about TJM use and their clinical instructor's (CI) credentials during their final musculoskeletal clinical experience. Results: Forty-five programs participated in the study, consisting of 2,147 SPTs. Of those, 414 (19.3%) responses were used for analysis and 69% reported using TJM. SPTs who utilized TJM were more likely to have a CI who used TJM (p < 0.001) and/or had advanced certification/training in manual therapy (p < .001). A majority of students agreed or strongly agreed that their academic preparation provided them with clinical reasoning tools (84%) and psychomotor skills (69%) necessary to perform TJM. SPT use of TJM was facilitated by CI clinical practice, SPT competence in psychomotor skill, confidence in clinical reasoning, and practice setting. A main barrier to student use of TJM was CI lack of TJM use. Conclusions: Clinical practice of the CI appears to be a key factor in determining student use of TJM. Level of evidence: 2b.

Keywords: Thrust joint manipulation; clinical Education; student physical therapist.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of the survey response rate
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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