ABSTRACT
This study was designed to assess the ability of physical therapy [PT] students to utilize selected outcome measures such as range of motion [ROM], pain and a number of psychomotor skills and to determine the efficacy of treatment they carried out during orthopedic clinical training. The clinical education booklets in orthopedics of all PT students over a 6-year period were reviewed. Students' application of psychomotor skills such as peripheral joint mobilizations [PJM], proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation [PNF] techniques, therapeutic exercise techniques as well as utilization of basic outcome measures such as ROM and pain were analyzed with descriptive statistics and paired t test. A majority of students used PJM techniques [78.6%] and PNF techniques [58.6%]. The paired t test indicated that treatment interventions used by the students were associated with improved shoulder joint ROM and decreased pain levels [p < 0.001]. At the same time, therapeutic exercises were employed by the students after PJM and PNF. The most common 'comparable joint sign' was limitation in shoulder abduction ROM, which occurred in 44% of patients seen by the students. PT students' application of PJM, PNF, and therapeutic exercise improved ROM and decreased pain in patients with shoulder pathologies