Evaluating the Use of Objective Feedback to Facilitate Teaching and Learning of Spinal Mobilisations

Abstract

Manual therapy is one of the core skillsets of physiotherapists yet quantifying the hand pressure used in manual therapy and effectively teaching manual therapy skills to students have remained a challenge. Specifically for assessment and treatment of the spine, the correct location of the affected joint for mobilisation as well as a consistent force application at that joint is needed in order to achieve the desired therapeutic outcome. In the teaching of students, it is often difficult to evaluate both the palpation location, pressure and consistency of force application objectively, whether on a plastic spine model or on real human beings. As students have no objective feedback on the pressure to exert or consistency of force application while practising on a plastic spine model, it is challenging for them to execute these mobilisation techniques on a real human body.  

This project aims to experiment with the development of a device (SMOFT: Spinal Mobilisation Objective Feedback Tool) consisting of a 3D spinal model, integrated with pressure sensors programmed on an Arduino board, and with a graphical user interface (GUI) to display the location and pattern of the force applied in real-time. By offering immediate, personalised feedback, this tool supports more effective, self-directed learning and helps students better prepare for workplace demands where anatomical location accuracy and consistency are critical in assessment and treatment of patients. The project explores how such a device can enhance the acquisition of spinal mobilisation skills and improve the quality of physiotherapy education.