Defining Skill in Manual and Manipulative Therapy: Perspectives from Physical Therapists

Background/Objectives: A state-wide survey was conducted in Florida to evaluate skill in manual and manipulative therapy as a therapeutic intervention, explore its use in the field of physical therapy, and understand how physical therapists quantify skill to aid in creating a definition of what comprises manual and manipulative skills. A survey was developed utilizing the Delphi approach, which was entered into an electronic survey platform and distributed via email to physical therapists licensed in the state of Florida. Questions of the survey addressed the physical therapists' demographics, education, training, use of MT, and Likert scales to quantify physical therapists' perspectives on characteristics contributing to MT skills and how various characteristics contribute to skills in manual and manipulative therapies. Results: The response rate was 1.6% (307/19,523). Ninety-four percent of participants had more than 10 years of experience in physical therapy, and all respondents had at least 1 year of experience. Participants were 59.3% female and 40.7% male, with a mean age of 48 years (SD = 12.7). No association between gender and use of manual therapy was found (p = 0.44). Of respondents, 33.3% said they use manual and manipulative therapy on every patient, and 38.1% said they use it at least once a day. The most common specialty board certification that respondents held was in orthopedics. Among participants who believe that skill in manual and manipulative therapy is measurable, a Pearson's correlation showed the following factors as key contributors of "skill" in manual therapy: therapeutic alliance, therapeutic touch, the ability to differentiate subtle nuances between grades I-IV, and adherence to evidence-based practice. Conclusions: The definition of skill found in this study could be used in future studies to determine how skilled MT interventions can influence patient outcomes. Future research should be conducted to discover how these aspects of manual and manipulative therapy can impact intervention results in patient care and how these definitions may influence physical therapy education.