The Effect of Brochure Use Versus

shiliangyin

From  Martin Friedrich  Thomas Cermak   Petra Maderbacher
Background and Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate
whether the mode of teaching exercises (use of brochures versus
therapist teaching) affects whether patients correctly perform the
exercises and whether it affects changes in impairment. Subjects.
Eighty-seven patients (33 women, 54 men) with neck pain and low hack
pain were examined. The average age was 48 years (SD=12.7,
range=21-67). Methods. Two groups of patients were analyzed. The
supervised (physical therapist-instructed) group (n=47) exercised
under the supervision of a physical therapist, whereas the brochure
group (n=40) received their instructions only from one of three
brochures. A rating scale was used to assess the correctness of exercise
performance. Muscle status was registered using a standardized procedure
for determination of rriilscle force and length. Pain severity was
determined by means of a visual analogue scale. Results. On the rating
scale evaluating the correctness of exercise performance at follow-up,
the patients in the supervised group performed better than the
patients in the brochure group. In addition, there was a strong
correlation bctween the quality of exercise performance and decrease
in pain. Conclusion and Discussion. Exercises learned only from a
brochure without being monitored by a physical therapist were done
properly by only about half of the patients and appeared to result in
fewer improvements in impairments. [Friedrich M, Cermak T, Maderbachcr
P. The effect of' brochure use versus therapist teaching on
patients performing therapeutic exercise and on changes in impairment
status. Phys Tk. 1996;76: 1082-1088.