[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate Japanese physical therapists’ attitudes of
evidence-based practice and clinical practice guidelines. [Subjects and Methods] In 2014,
a cross-sectional postal mail survey using a self-administered questionnaire was
conducted. Of 2,982 physical therapists belonging to the Chiba Prefecture Physical
Therapist Association, 1,000 were randomly selected. The questionnaire comprised 42 items
pertaining to the attitudes of and behavior toward evidence-based practice and clinical
practice guidelines. It was investigated to reveal the relationship between clinical
practice guidelines/evidence-based practice and therapist characteristics. [Results] The
response rate was 39.6%, and 384 questionnaires were available. The main results were as
follows: 83.3% participants agreed to the importance of evidence-based practice, 77.1%
agree to that evidence-based practice supports clinical decision of physical therapists,
and about 11% agreed to have been educated about evidence-based practice. Then, 29.2%
used, 54.9% agreed to the importance of, and 13.3% agreed to the utility of clinical
practice guidelines. An important factor related mostly to a positive attitude, knowledge
and behavior of evidence-based practice and clinical practice guidelines was participating
in research activities. [Conclusion] Many of physical therapists do not use and understand
the importance of clinical practice guidelines. Participating in research activities may
partially contribute to improving these conditions.
Twenty-one healthy subjects were instructed to observe the mirror image of the tactile stimulation of their own hand (control condition) or an assistant's hand (experimental condition) while being queried about the referred sensation (RS) in their own masked hand behind the mirror. The rated intensity of the RS under the experimental condition was significantly stronger than that under the control condition. In a second experiment, the experimental condition was replaced with the tactile stimulation of a prosthetic (rubber) hand, and was compared with the tactile stimulation of the subject's own hand (control condition). In both of the experiments, the rated intensity of RS was significantly stronger under the experimental condition than under the control condition. The qualitative characteristics of the induced RS on the mirror image hand--including the location, sense of ownership, and various subjective feelings--were also found to vary among subjects. In conclusion, an RS could be induced in healthy subjects on the mirror image of the hand by tactile stimulations, although this effect differed substantially among individuals.
These findings are speculated to be related to the facts that the unilateral SMA strongly contributes to movement of the ipsilateral limb and that the plasticity of the SMA, which is a higher-motor area, is greater than that of primary areas. It is probable that different regions of the brain have different plasticity, resulting in differences in the process of functional recovery and the level of recovery.
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