Patient Outcomes After Treatment by Athletic Therapy Students

Abstract

Context: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) should be used in athletic training and athletic therapy but are rarely incorporated in internships. Student-run clinics are common in other health professions and provide effective treatment and valuable learning environments. To our knowledge, no one has evaluated rehabilitation outcomes in patients treated by athletic therapy students (ATSs). Objective: To measure the improvement in function in injured patients seeking treatment at an ATS clinic. Design: Cohort study. Setting: An ATS clinic. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 59 patients (32 women, age ¼ 33.9 6 14.7 years; 27 men, age ¼ 38 6 14.4 years) from the community with a variety of low back, lower extremity, and upper extremity injuries participated. Main Outcome Measure(s): At baseline and 6-week followup, all patients completed 1 of 3 scales (depending on their injury location) to assess their injured level of function. Scales were the Oswestry Disability Index for low back injuries; Lower Extremity Functional Scale for lower extremity injuries; and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand for upper extremity injuries. Results: On average, patients received 4.7 6 1.8 treatments across 48.8 6 16.1 days. They experienced an increase in function between baseline and follow-up assessments (18.8% 6 20.3%; P, .001, Cohen d ¼ 1.06). Moreover, the amount of functional improvement was clinically meaningful, as it was greater than the minimal clinically important difference for each scale. The efficacy of treatments did not differ according to the internship experiences of the ATSs. Conclusions: Function improved in patients after treatment delivered by an ATS. Patient-reported outcome measures were useful for the students in monitoring patient improvement, but more research is needed regarding effective treatments for patients with chronic pain. Our results suggested that ATS clinics provide effective treatments for patients, service to the community, and a learning opportunity for students.