Physiotherapist experiences and acceptability of a clinical sensor-based kinematic feedback toolkit for movement feedback rehabilitation for people following Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction

Physiotherapist experiences and acceptability of a clinical sensor-based kinematic feedback toolkit for movement feedback rehabilitation for people following Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction.

Background

After knee ligament repair many patients do not recover. Tailored physiotherapy treatments developed from accurate kinematic measurement providing individualised movement feedback may improve outcomes. We have developed a sensor-based kinematic feedback toolkit that generates visual quantifiable data giving precise feedback regarding real time multi-planar kinematic data in the clinical setting and we present physiotherapist opinions about this tool.

Objective

To gather physiotherapist experience and acceptance of a sensor-based kinematic feedback toolkit for anterior cruciate ligament injury rehabilitation to inform tool development for clinical practice

Design and participants

Semi-structured interviews gathered experiences of twelve physiotherapists who used the toolkit for patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation

Findings

Four themes were identified (1) tool kit usability and future design considerations; (2) clinical integration and decision-making; (3) behaviour change; and (4) future use of biomechanical technology in clinical practice.

Conclusion

The sensor-based biomechanical feedback toolkit report was perceived to be usable and acceptable. Physiotherapists could identify biomechanical movement compensations in patients that could lead to a more individualised targeted treatment approach. Barriers focused on file sharing, IT integration, and compatibility to access and view the digital report. Recommendations were to determine patient acceptance and implementation of real-time data collection in clinical settings for patients and Physiotherapists.