Extrinsic feedback from a feedback device promotes the learning of range of motion measurements

[Purpose] Although it is widely recognized that feedback is important for skill acquisition or improvement, feedback is not completely utilized in physical therapy education. Therefore, we aimed to verify the effect of extrinsic feedback from a feedback device on proficiency in range of motion measurements by a universal goniometer. [Participants and Methods] The participants included 22 physical therapy students who were randomly assigned to feedback (n=11) and non-feedback groups (n=11). The passive right knee flexion range of motion was set as the measurement task. The experiment consisted of a pretest phase, practice trials, and a posttest phase. In the pretest phase, all participants conducted three measurements without extrinsic feedback. Extrinsic feedback related to measurement error from a device was given only to the feedback group. The posttest was conducted 24 hours after the practice trials with the same content as that in the pretest. [Results] The improvement rate from pretest to posttest was greater in the feedback group than in the non-feedback group. The results indicated that the measurement error decreases with extrinsic measurement error-related feedback during practice. [Conclusion] The utilization of extrinsic feedback from a feedback device is effective for enhancing range of motion measurement skills.