Reading Scientific Literature

The cornerstone of any physiotherapy practice is the integration of the scientific literature with clinical experience to guide assessment and treatment of our patients. An experienced clinician will be well versed in both facets and believe it or not, reading scientific literature is a skill. To be able to read the methods/procedure, subject parameters and statistics of a paper and apply it to real life is a difficult thing. This is why I urge caution to my clients when it comes to reading anything scientific in a smash and grab new headline, to be curious of the source and read other articles on a subject. I learned this lesson in my undergraduate degree, when a pharmacology professor duped us all with a fake paper- and this was in 2008.

In the era of COVID-19, we must do our best to not succumb to quick and easy information, it takes time to acquire quality knowledge, an investment in time which is necessary.