Objectives: To identify methods of exercise prescription by physiotherapists across Australian intensive care units (ICUs), including the most commonly used activities for both mechanically ventilated and spontaneously breathing patients; and to determine the outcome measures used for the evaluation of exercise intervention. Design: Postal questionnaire. Setting: One hundred and sixty-seven adult ICUs across all Australian states and territories. Participants: Australian intensive care physiotherapists. Results: In total, 126 questionnaires were returned from all states and territories of Australia except the Northern Territory. Almost half of the ICUs (49%, 20/41) that did not return a questionnaire lacked a permanent physiotherapy service. Seventy-eight percent (87/111) of respondents were senior staff, and 49%... Read more..
8/17/09, Impact of carbamazepine on postural control in older adults: an exploratory study»»
 Objective: To explore whether carbamazepine impairs postural control in older people with epilepsy. Design: Measures at 0hours, before ingesting carbamazepine (baseline), and 2, 4 and 6hours thereafter. Setting: Rehabilitation laboratory. Participants: Patients, aged 55 years or more, taking carbamazepine for epilepsy (n=4) and age-matched healthy volunteers (n=2). Measures: (1) Heel-to-toe walk: walking speed, double support time and hand excursion. (2) Standing still, eyes open/closed: centre of mass excursion. (3) Sit-to-walk: duration of task and component phases. Results: (1) Heel-to-toe. Three patients completed the task. At baseline, double support time was 150% and hand excursion was 65% of volunteer values. Walking speed did not differ. Patients showed no change over time. (2)... Read more..
8/17/09, Preparedness of new graduate Australian physiotherapists in the use of electrophysical agents»»
 Objective: To determine the perceptions of physiotherapists concerning the preparedness of new graduates to use electrophysical agents (EPAs) in clinical practice. Design: An observational cross-sectional questionnaire was developed and demonstrated to be reliable and valid. Participants: The questionnaire was mailed to all registered physiotherapists in Australia in 2005 (n=12,893). Results: In total, 3538 questionnaires were returned complete. Two forms of non-responder analysis indicated that the sample and their associated responses were representative of the Australian physiotherapy population. Eight out of 10 new graduates felt prepared to use EPAs that are common in Australian clinical practice. However, 80% felt underprepared to use a range of other EPAs. Similar... Read more..
PhysioToday is the world's first online collaborative platform and community of practice for physiotherapists to share best practice, clinical tools, evidence-based knowledge, research, and Continual Professional Development (CPD) material. PhysioToday is a membership-only site that all and only qualified professionals and students on recognised training programmes can join. With PhysioToday users can access, share and contribute case studies, guidelines, medical images, in service training, online courses and research articles, amongst many other resources.
PhysioToday is an independent, user-driven tool and users create, peer-review and rate the content. Although all users can access the information, only qualified professionals can submit or review ideas in an open and transparent way. This ensures that only the best material emerges in a democratic and consensual manner.
PhysioToday’s mission is to provide a tool which helps physiotherapists everywhere improve their level of patient care through sharing best practice, clinical tools, evidence-based knowledge, research and a commitment to Continual Professional Development (CPD).
In short we aim to: Promote cross-fertilisation across the whole profession.
Facilitate the advancement and dissemination of evidence based practice.
Facilitate mentoring and the hand over of clinical knowledge.
Provide access to quality controlled and affordable CPD.
Enable physiotherapist to communicate and make informed choices.
PhysioToday has been designed to be user-friendly and functional. It uses the latest web technology to make sharing information quick and easy. We constantly strive to make the best possible tool and we welcome your ideas and feedback to improve our service.
PhysioToday is commited to providing affordable and quality-controlled material that gives every physiotherapist a voice.
As an organisation, we value integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continual self-improvement, and mutual respect. We are committed to our members and partners and have a passion for physiotherapy and the impact it can have on people’s lives.
When you visit PhysioToday, you will find the broadest and largest collection of information in all areas of physiotherapy, from musculoskeletal to cardiac rehabilitation as well as an international community to help you. You will have access to this material, free of copyright, to use in your next inservice or with your students (see terms and conditions). You will also be able to see who has contributed each resource and what your colleagues worldwide thought of it.
If you are a qualified physiotherapist, you will be able to share evidence-based knowledge, clinical tools, examples of best practice, case studies, research papers and any other relevant information with the wider community. This will count towards your Continual Professional Development (CPD ) requirement and it will also trigger responses from members who are also qualified professionals. This debate will hopefully lead to a greater level of understanding about the profession that in turn, will help the entire community deliver improved care to patients.
If you are a newly qualified practitioner you will also be able to access online course from recognised training providers, find experienced mentors, and have an active CPD.
If you are student, you will have access to the most comprehensive physiotherapy database available.
Joining is simple. Simply create an account by clicking on the "register" link on the top right hand corner of this page. Then fill in the registration form and click the register button.
Subscription to PhysioToday is only available to professional physiotherapists and students who belong to a professional organisation that is affiliated to the World Confederation for Physical Therapy. It can take up to two working days for your account to become active while we check your credentials. This is to maintain the professionalism and quality of the website.
Subscription to PhysioToday is FREE for students from recognised qualifying programmes. It is also FREE to all unemployed newly qualified physiotherapists who might find it difficult to keep their CPD up-to-date.
Subscription for other users is £30 per year (~US$ 60) and this maintains the quality and functionality of the website.
NICE published new Low Back Pain guidelines at the end of May 2009. These recommend that patients be offered manual therapy and acupuncture. This is great news for physiotherapy.
PhysioToday is proud to present the first physiotherapy online CPD course. This is a course on fall prevention developed in collaboration with Later Life Training. Later Life training run courses in
Exercise for the Prevention of Falls & Injuries in Frailer Older People (Postural Stability Instructor), which is CSP approved and the "Someone Like Me" Senior Peer Activity Motivator Programme.
The course comprises four modules presented by falls expert Dr Dawn Skelton.
Part 1: Epidemiology, risks, and consequences of Falls - AVAILABLE FREE
Part 2: Evidence based intervention
Part 3: "models" of fall prevention
Part 4: Gait and balance
The course constitutes 10 hours of CPD time, with a certificate delivered after completion of the final assessment.
Part 1 is now available and FREE till the end of October 08.
Simply go to the Learn section, choose online courses and enrol for the course.
PhysioToday is working hard at bringing quality online training at accessible prices.
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PhysioToday’s mission is to provide a tool which helps physiotherapists everywhere improve their level of patient care through sharing best practice, clinical tools, evidence-based knowledge, research and a commitment to Continual Professional Development (CPD).
When you visit PhysioToday, you will find the broadest and largest collection of information in all areas of physiotherapy, from musculoskeletal to cardiac rehabilitation as well as an international community to help you. You will have access to this material, free of copyright, to use in your next inservice or with your students (see terms and conditions). You will also be able to see who has contributed each resource and what your colleagues worldwide thought of it.
Joining is simple. Simply create an account by clicking on the "register" link on the top right hand corner of this page. Then fill in the registration form and click the register button.
NICE published new Low Back Pain guidelines at the end of May 2009. These recommend that patients be offered manual therapy and acupuncture. This is great news for physiotherapy.
.jpg)
PhysioToday is proud to present the first physiotherapy online CPD course. This is a course on fall prevention developed in collaboration with