EFFICACY OF A COMPUTERIZED KNEE SIMULATION MODEL ON DEVELOPING MANUAL THERAPY SKILLS IN PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENTS OPO42

PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: The purpose was to assess the effectiveness of training with a computerized joint simulation model on the acquisition, retention, and transference of manual therapy skills. We hypothesized training on the computerized knee model would improve selected outcomes as an adjunct to classroom methods of manual therapy training, the experimental group would be more accurate in performing the forces of manual therapy techniques compared to a gold standard, the experimental group would have greater retention of the manual therapy skills, and skills acquired on the computerized knee model would be accurately transferred to the computerized shoulder model.
NUMBER OF SUBJECTS: Thirty-four first-year Doctor of Physical Therapy students.
MATERIALS/METHODS: Subjects were randomized into experimental and control groups. Both groups were pretested on a computerized knee …