Manual Therapy Force Perception Scale

Development and Pre-testing of a Manual Therapy Force Perception Scale

The objective of this observational study is to pilot a scale designed to assist clinicians in evaluating the force they perceive during manual therapy.

The main question it aims to answer is:

- Are clinicians able to evaluate the force they use when delivering manual therapies to their patients using a scale?

For the pilot test, licensed chiropractors administer manual therapies on a manikin.

The aim of this observational study is to pilot test an ordinal scale (the Manual Therapy Force Perception [MTFP] scale) intended to enable clinicians to assign ordinal rankings to their patients based on their perception of the force they applied during manual therapy . This involved evaluating the agreement between the force applied by clinicians during spinal manipulations and mobilizations delivered on a manikin and their subjective perception of force, as determined using the MTFP scale. Additionally, the pilot study aimed to seek feedback on the MTFP scale from clinicians who are its potential users.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Licensed chiropractors with a private practice within the province of Quebec, Canada.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Having a condition that prevents the execution of approximately 50 manual therapies over a 1-hour period.