A comparison of physical therapy students with and without instructions in ultrasound pressure application

The purpose of this study was to determine whether providing physical therapy (PT) students with instructions in proper ultrasound (US) pressure application would result in more optimal pressures compared with pressures obtained by students who were not instructed. Previous research determined that for transmission to be adequate, optimal pressure must be 600 g. A sample of convenience of PT students in our program participated in this study. Students were divided into two groups: 31 first-year students who were instructed (group 1) and 34 third-year students who were not instructed (group 2) in US pressure application.

The students who were trained in this new parameter did so as part of the electromodalities course and were compared with untrained third-year students. Group 1 received specific verbal instructions during laboratory, and then performed the US to a gel pad placed on top of a digital scale while observing the digital pressure readout for feedback. This group was retested 7 months later to determine retention of skill acquisition. For data collection, all students applied US for 5 minutes with pressures recorded every 30 seconds and were blinded to the readout. The group without instructions had a mean pressure of 321.92 g (SD, 257.82), and the group with instructions had a mean of 607.29 g (SD, 145.52) 4 weeks after training. The difference between means was significant (t[60.4] = 8.54, p < 0.000). Follow-up scores 7 months later for group 1 showed a mean of 587.23 g (SD, 284.17), not significantly different from the first measurements (p = 0.807). The results showed a significant difference between groups, whereby students who received instructions outperformed those who did not, overall were more accurate in their perception of US pressure, and showed good retention skills, reaffirming that feedback is a valuable learning tool. For US to be effective, proper pressure must be exerted, and this should be a parameter instructed in schools where US is taught to improve treatment effectiveness.