Article

In recent years, physical therapists have paid greater attention to
body awareness. Clinicians have witnessed the benefits of supporting their
patients' learning of movement awareness through the promotion of their movement
quality. The aim of this study was to investigate how physical
therapist experts promote movement quality in their usual clinical settings.
A phenomenological research design that included a sampling strategy was
devised. Using specific criteria, 6 lead physical therapists nominated a group of
physical therapist experts from the fields of neurology, primary health care, and
mental health. Fifteen informants, 5 from each field, agreed to participate.
METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with a semistructured interview
guide. The informants were invited to simply describe what they had experienced
to be successful therapeutic processes for promoting movement quality. Each
interview was audiotaped and transcribed. The data analysis was based on a
multistep model. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged from the data. First, the
physical therapists' embodied presence and movement awareness served as a
precondition and an orientation for practice. Embodied presence is a bodily felt
sense, a form of personal knowing that evokes understanding and fosters meaning.
Second, creating a platform for promoting movement quality revealed
implementation of psychological attitudes. Third, action strategies for promoting
movement quality suggested a movement awareness learning cycle and components for
clinical use. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated specific attitudes and skills
used by physical therapist experts to promote movement quality in their clinical
practice. These results may serve as a therapeutic framework for promoting
movement quality in clinical physical therapy, although further research is
needed.

Langue : ANGLAIS