Richard Collier

Communication between general and manipulative practitioners: A survey

A survey of general practitioners (GPs) in the south of England was undertaken to determine their understanding and communication needs in referring patients to practitioners of manipulation. Eighty-six out of 309 GPs replied to a postal questionnaire (28% response). The results suggest that, while routine communication is important for improving understanding, GPs appear to have a preference for disciplines of which they have personal experience. The majority of responders favoured receiving a report on one side of A5 paper when the patient completes treatment. This should contain the nature of treatment and advice given and an indication of its outcome. Those who desired an initial report wanted it to contain a summary of the nature of the problem, a brief history, a summary of relevant findings from the examination, any investigations and a prognosis. Many GPs commented that they were more comfortable in referring to physiotherapists because they felt they had a better understanding of the treatment involved. Furthermore, chiropractic and osteopathic terminologies were reported to be confusing more often than physiotherapy terminology. Bearing in mind the potential bias in responses due to its geographical limitations and low response rate, this study provides useful indicators for manipulative and GPs who wish to work more closely together.

Accessing and Engaging with Video Streams for Educational Purposes: Experiences, Issues and Concerns.

Video streaming has the potential to offer tutors a more flexible and accessible means of incorporating moving images into learning resources for their students than conventional video. Consideration is given to this assertion by drawing upon the experiences of staff and evidence from students at the University of Southampton in the use of a video, Back Care for Health Professionals, before and after it was streamed. The resulting case study highlights various issues and concerns, both logistical and pedagogic. These include ease of access, the form and frequency of guidance with respect to technical matters, the use of multiple channels of communication to convey key messages about the availability and value of the video, and the provision of demonstrations or ‘tasters’. In other words, what some might regard as the ‘softer’ aspects of technological developments should receive at least as much attention as the ‘harder’.

Monitoring and Assessing Crew Performance in High-Speed Marine Craft - Methodological Considerations

This paper proposes a method to monitor and assess human perform ance specific to high-speed marine craft operation. The high-speed craft crew’s ability to efficiently perform their allotted tasks is affected by the manner in which the vessel responds to the variable sea conditions. In general, the reaction of human body to high-speed boat motion and vibration is recognized as the main cause of fatigue during and post transits; whereas random shock repre sents the most likely cause of injuries during transits. The pilot experiment in troduced in this paper was designed and performed with the intention to identify and evaluate measures of crew performance during and after a transit in a ma rine environment that can serve to indicate increasing fatigue, decreased func tional capabilities and thus possible increased risk of injury.

Assessment of Human Performance during High-Speed Marine Craft Transit

The aim of this study is to investigate human factors specific to high-speed craft operation during transits at sea. For that purpose, a pilot methodology to simultaneously measure and synchronize boat and human physiological data during a transit was designed and conducted. Some measures of interest in the study were seat motions and vibration coupled with head motions, heart rate and the activity of certain spinal muscles. The surface electromyography (EMG) signals were used in order to investigate if the fatiguing characteristics of the lumbar spine muscles of a RIB crew change over time. Additionally, the electrocardiogram (ECG) signals were used to analyze the effect of body vibrations on heart rate variability.

Complementary or not? The scope of manipulative physiotherapy practice

Summary The practice of manipulative physiotherapy has its roots in the core skills of the profession of physiotherapy. Today those skills have evolved into a range of techniques which are highly suited to the variety of conditions seen in clinical practice. Physiotherapists practising alone, or with other practitioners involved in the management of patients with complex musculo-skeletal problems, have a range of skills which complement those of all our professional colleagues.