Priorities for Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy Research: Assessing Outcomes or Understanding Mechanisms?

Christopher M. Powers

The future of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy will ultimately depend on the combination of outcomes and mechanistic research. One could argue that clinic-based research meets our more immediate needs, however, basic and applied research is certainly necessary in the long term. We cannot afford to make the same mistake of the last 30 years by focusing too heavily on 1 type of research, as neither type can exist in isolation and both should be occurring simultaneously. The fact of the matter is that many of the future researchers in physical therapy are still being trained in basic and applied sciences laboratories and their potential contribution to physical therapy science cannot be ignored. Such research efforts should be viewed as opportunities and embraced by the granting agencies within the American Physical Therapy Association, whether it is the Foundation for Physical Therapy or individual sections. Ultimately, the combination of basic, applied, and clinical research will provide a more comprehensive scientific foundation for practice by ensuring that the immediate and future research needs of physical therapy are met.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2003;33(5):219-220.

Key Words: basic research, applied research

View Full Article