Unfortunately the reality of the clinical setting does not seem to be a suitable environment for many therapists to conduct or participate in research. The results of a recent survey by the Research committee of the Colorado Chapter of the APTA support this statement. In addition, the study indicated that physical therapists are interested in partipating in clinical research but indicate lack of, expertise, time, and administrative support as factors hindering the research process. The following rebuttals to these comments and other similar concerns may prove helpful in changing this unfortunate situation. However, to treat without good measurement or to treat without sound rationale can only lead to lower quality patient care and ambiquity.
Dogmatic treatments can be time-consuming and costly and can lead to erroneous conclusions.
Both circumstances can lower quality of patient care. In some instances a significant amount of data can be collected during treatment in a reasonable amount of time. Data collection represents the least amount of time in a study. Consideration must also be given to retrospective studies. Despite some loss in internal validity or control, these can prove to be insightful and allow data to be collected and processed when time is available.