Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a major cause of global disability and improving management is essential. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a promising treatment for chronic pain but has not been modified for physical therapy. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared physical therapy informed by ACT (PACT) against standard care physical therapy for patients with CLBP. Patients with CLBP (duration ≥12 weeks, mean 3 years) were recruited from physical therapy clinics in 4 UK public hospitals. The Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) at 3 months' postrandomization was the primary outcome. Two hundred forty-eight participants (59% female, mean age = 48) were recruited and 219 (88.3%) completed measures at 3 and/or 12 months' follow-up. At 3 months, PACT participants reported better outcomes for disability (RMDQ mean difference = 1.07, p = .037, 95% CI = À2.08 to À.07, d = .2), Patient Specific Functioning (p = .008), SF12 physical health (p = .032), and treatment credibility (p < .001). At 12 months' follow-up, there were no significant differences between groups. PACT was acceptable to patients and clinicians and feasible to deliver. Physical therapists incorporated psychological principles successfully and treatment was delivered with high (≥80%) fidelity. Our results may inform the management of CLBP, with potential benefits for patients, health care providers, and society.Perspective: Psychologically informed physical therapy has great potential but there are challenges in implementation. The training and support included in the PACT trial enabled the intervention to be delivered as planned. This successfully reduced disability in the short but not long term. Findings could inform physical therapists' treatment of CLBP.
Lateral hamstrings activity reduces anterior knee laxity in a nonlinear manner, whereby the initial lower level of activation produces the greatest change in anterior knee laxity. Therefore, hamstrings muscle activity must be monitored during anterior knee laxity testing.
Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) can engage students with learning and offer benefits in knowledge acquisition due to the flexibility of learning it provides. There is difficulty ascertaining best practice for the implementation of TEL in physiotherapy education. This study aims to address this through a case study with pre-registration students using a virtual learning environment (VLE) to supplement their learning. Seventy-nine students were enrolled onto a Movement & Exercise module and had access to the VLE resources. Data were captured by online survey, student focus groups, learning analytics data and comparison of examination results with a previous cohort who did not have access to all the resources. Survey data demonstrated that most students were satisfied with the resources and that they facilitated knowledge acquisition. Thematic analysis from the focus groups resulted in five higher order themes: (1) Content quality, (2) Interaction and accessibility, (3) Learning goal alignment, (4) Satisfaction with resources and (5) Suggestions for the future. Learning analytics data revealed students accessed the resources predominantly before examination periods. There were statistically significant improvements in mean examination marks compared to the previous cohort. In conclusion, satisfaction with the TEL resources was high, and there may be some positive effect on knowledge acquisition.
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