Volume 30: Issue 1

Objective: Most studies on spinal manipulation learning demonstrate the relevance of including motor learning strategies in chiropractic curricula. Two outcomes of practice are the production of movement in an efficient manner and the improved capability of learners to evaluate their own motor performance. The goals of this study were to evaluate if expertise is associated with increased spinal manipulation proficiency and if error detection skills of force application during a high-velocity low-amplitude spinal manipulation are related to expertise.

Methods: Three groups of students and 1 group of expert chiropractors completed 10 thoracic spine manipulations on an instrumented device with the specific goal of reaching a maximum peak force of 300 N after a brief period of practice. After each trial, participants were asked to give an estimate of their maximal peak force. Force-time profiles were analyzed to determine the biomechanical parameters of each participant and the participant's capacity to estimate his or her own performance.

Results: Significant between-group differences were found for each biomechanical parameter. No significant difference was found between groups for the error detection variables (p > .05). The lack of significant effects related to the error detection capabilities with expertise could be related to the specificity of the task and how the training process was structured.

Conclusion: This study confirms that improvements in biomechanical parameters of spinal manipulation are related to expertise. Feedback based on error detection could be implemented in chiropractic curricula to improve trainee abilities in detecting motor execution errors.

Objective: We developed an adjusting bench with a force plate supporting the lumbar portion to measure loads transmitted during lumbar manual adjustment. It will be used to provide force-feedback to enhance student learning in technique labs. The study goal is to define the learning target loads and speeds, with instructors as expert models.

Methods: A total of 11 faculty members experienced in teaching Gonstead technique methods performed 81 simulated adjustments on a mannequin on the force plate. Adjustments were along 9 lumbopelvic “listings” at 3 load levels: light, normal, and heavy. We analyzed the thrusts to find preload, peak load, duration, and thrust rate.

Results: Analysis of 891 thrusts showed wide variations between doctors. Peak loads ranged from 100 to 1400 N. All doctors showed clear distinctions between peak load levels, but there was overlap between high and low loads. Thrust rates were more uniform across doctors, averaging 3 N/ms.

Conclusion: These faculty members delivered a range of thrusts, not unlike those seen in the literature for high velocity, low amplitude manipulation. We have established at least minimum force and speed targets for student performance, but more work must be done to create a normative adjustment to guide refinement of student learning.

Objective: We explored if any predictors of success could be identified from end-of-year grades in a chiropractic master's program and whether these grades could predict final-year grade performance and year-on-year performance.

Methods: End-of-year average grades and module grades for a single cohort of students covering all academic results for years 1–4 of the 2013 graduating class were used for this analysis. Analysis consisted of within-year correlations of module grades with end-of-year average grades, linear regression models for continuous data, and logistic regression models for predicting final degree classifications.

Results: In year 1, 140 students were enrolled; 85.7% of students completed the program 4 years later. End-of-year average grades for years 1–3 were correlated (Pearson r values ranging from .75 to .87), but the end-of-year grades for years 1–3 were poorly correlated with clinic internship performance. In linear regression, several modules were predictive of end-of-year average grades for each year. For year 1, logistic regression showed that the modules Physiology and Pharmacology and Investigative Imaging were predictive of year 1 performance (odds ratio [OR] = 1.15 and 0.9, respectively). In year 3, the modules Anatomy and Histopathology 3 and Problem Solving were predictors of the difference between a pass/merit or distinction final degree classification (OR = 1.06 and 1.12, respectively).

Conclusion: Early academic performance is weakly correlated with final-year clinic internship performance. The modules of Anatomy and Histopathology year 3 and Problem Solving year 3 emerged more consistently than other modules as being associated with final-year classifications.

Trunk neuromuscular control adaptations following a prolonged static flexion of the trunk

Jacques Abboud, Francois Nougarou, Martin Descarreaux

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify adaptations in muscle activity distribution to spinal tissue creep in presence of muscle fatigue. Methods: Twenty-three healthy participants performed a fatigue task before and after a 30-minute session of passive spinal tissue deformation in flexion. Right and left erector spinae activity was recorded using large-array surface electromyography (EMGs). To characterize muscle activity distribution, the dispersion variable was used. During the fatigue task, EMG amplitude RMS, median frequency (MDF) and dispersion

Conference Theme: The theme for the 2017 combined conference is “Patients, Policy, and Purpose: Opportunities in Spine Care.” However, submissions may be in any of the categories listed below.

Categories: The call for scientific submissions invites original research that promotes the dissemination and discussion of new information in the following research categories:

Basic Science (e.g., experimental trials, quantitative basic science research, and so forth)
Education (e.g., classroom research, quantitative/qualitative education/administration research, and so forth)
Clinical (e.g., clinical trials, quantitative/qualitative clinical research, cohort studies, and so forth)
Case Studies/Reports (e.g., clinical case reports

Small Teaching Online

Carissa ManriquePhD,

Abdellatif AlsharifPhD,

Kelly BrownMS,

Cynthia CalongneDCS,

Terence CockerhamMA, and

Themba NgwenyaDCS

Correlation of expertise with error detection skills of force application during spinal manipulation learning*

Establishing force and speed training targets for lumbar spine high-velocity, low-amplitude chiropractic adjustments*

Influence of year-on-year performance on final degree classification in a chiropractic master's degree program

No difference in learning retention in manikin-based simulation based on role

Community-based free clinics: opportunities for interprofessional collaboration, health promotion, and complex care management

The influence of curricular and extracurricular learning activities on students' choice of chiropractic technique

Preceptor doctors' assessment of the clinical skills of chiropractic externs

Association of Chiropractic Colleges Educational Conference and Research Agenda Conference 2015

INTRODUCTION

The Hidden Curriculum in Health Professional Education

Table of Contents for proceedings

Peer-review acknowledgements

Platform presentation abstracts

Trunk neuromuscular control adaptations following a prolonged static flexion of the trunk

Poster presentation abstracts

Forces applied to patients with low back pain during flexion distraction treatment: a clinical case series

Call for scientific submissions 2017 ACC-RAC/WFC/NCLC

Call for workshop proposals 2017 ACC-RAC/WFC/NCLC

Small Teaching Online

Association between time management practices and perceived stress levels in preclinical chiropractic students

Perceptions of chiropractic students on digital literacy skills at a South African university: A cross-sectional study

Prevalence of burnout among chiropractic students in Malaysia

Use of the Evidence-Based practice Attitude and utilization SurvEy to determine the use of evidence-based practice by chiropractic students

Student and new graduate perception of hospital versus institutional clinic for clinical educational experience

A cross-sectional study of the association between anxiety and temporomandibular disorder in Australian chiropractic students

Effects of an 8-week physical exercise program on spinal manipulation biomechanical parameters in a group of 1st-year chiropractic students *

Development of a student grading rubric and testing for interrater agreement in a doctor of chiropractic competency program

A pilot study of the effect of force feedback training on students learning flexion-distraction chiropractic technique *