The Guide to Physical Therapist Practice affirms that physical therapists should determine the appropriateness of physical therapy to address a patient's disablement. The decision facing all therapists-during the initial evaluation and every subsequent clinic visit-is whether to treat the patient, refer the patient, or initiate both treatment and referral. This decision is based on whether the patient's clinical presentation is consistent with symptoms and signs of pathology that seem amenable to physical therapy. At minimum, deciding the appropriateness of physical therapy takes confirmation of the pathology suggested in a physician's referral diagnosis, if present. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that more extensive questioning, clinical testing, and referral to other specialists frequently are needed.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006; 36(1):1-2. doi:10.2519/jospt.2006.0101

Key Words: diagnosis 

Study Design: Prospective test-retest, intrarater reliability study. Objectives: To estimate the intrarater reliability, asymmetry, and associated error with measurement of the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the bilateral S1 multifidi when measured by a physical therapist following a short course of self-directed training in ultrasound imaging. Background: There is increasing interest in the assessment of the lumbar multifidus during the recovery from low back injury. It is important to know the error associated with the CSA measurements obtained by a physical therapist with limited experience in ultrasound imaging when using a portable unit. Methods and Measures: Thirty healthy females (mean ± SD age, 23 ± 2 years; mean ± SD mass, 63.1 ± 9.2 kg; mean ± SD height, 1.63 ± 0.06 m) participated. Fourteen subjects returned within 1 to 4 days for repeated measurements. Results: For all 30 subjects, the average (±SD) CSA of the left S1 multifidus (4.18 ± 0.55 cm 2 ) was larger (P<.05) than the right (4.11 ± 0.57 cm 2 ), with a standard error of the measurement (SEM) of 0.13 cm² and average ± SD asymmetry of 3.5% ± 3.4%. For a subset of 14 subjects, the between-day intrarater reliability for the right S1 multifidus muscle was ICC 3,1 = 0.80 (95% CI, 0.49-0.93), while the ICC for the left side was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.34-0.90). The day-to-day average differences for the left and right side were 0.02 cm² and 0.04 cm² , respectively. For the most conservative estimate, the between-day SEM was 0.37cm². Conclusions: A physical therapist, newly trained in ultrasound imaging, obtained reasonable between-day intrarater reliability when imaging the S1 multifidus. A high degree of symmetry was found between the bilateral S1 multifidi in a sample of healthy subjects, which is consistent with previous reports from measurements by skilled ultrasonographers.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006;36(1):10-18. doi:10.2519/jospt.2006.2049

Key Words: low back, lumbar spine, muscles, reliability, sonography

The Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy is pleased to publish abstracts of research presentations made by the Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy Sections during the 2006 Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) in San Diego, CA, February 1-5, 2006. This collection of abstracts provides a glimpse into the research presented as part of the scientific programming of these 2 sections. The number and variety of the presentations scheduled for CSM are testimony to the dynamic research activities taking place in the field of physical therapy. The abstracts presented here are reviewed and selected by members of the research committee of each section based on content and format. The abstracts are not, however, reviewed by the Associate Editors or the Editor-in-Chief of the JOSPT. By design, each abstract presents only a brief summary of a research project–a summary that typically does not permit a full evaluation of the scientific rigor with which the work was conducted. In many cases, these abstracts serve the purpose of sharing new research ideas and, therefore, offer only preliminary results that will require future validation. Yet, presenting this type of research information at CSM plays an important role in encouraging a dialog among researchers, clinicians, and educators.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006;36(1):26.

2006 APTA Combined Sections Meeting

Orthopaedic Section Abstracts: Platform Presentations (Abstracts OPL1-OPL64)

The abstracts are presented here as prepared by the authors. The accuracy and content of each abstract remain the responsibility of the authors. In the identification number above each abstract, OPL designates an Orthopaedic platform presentation. The presenter’s name is underlined where that information was available to the JOSPT.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006;36(1):A1-A25.

2006 APTA Combined Sections Meeting

Sports Physical Therapy Section Abstracts: Platform Presentations (Abstracts SPL1-SPL26)

The abstracts are presented here as prepared by the authors. The accuracy and content of each abstract remain the responsibility of the authors. In the identification number above each abstract, SPL designates a Sports platform presentation. The presenter’s name is underlined where that information was available to the JOSPT.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006;36(1):A67-A76.