Hi brad,

Just quickly, an example of a wrong question to ask is can 2 therapists (or more) assess how much the Wikipedia reference-linkSIJ is moving in the stork test - this could be via a 5 point rating scale, etc. A better question to ask is: "Is the left side symmetrical to the right?"

Quantification of results leads to better statistical analysis. However it may measuring something irrelevant.

I am not arguing that we should not do research or not use evidence-based medicine. I am saying we should be doing research that backs us up as a profession.

I read about a Manips physio who has recently completed their PhD on the Origin and History Of Maniuplative Physiotherapy. Now I think that history is *very* important and useful because things happen in cycles and we have much to learn from history. But given the fact that we need more research in supporting our profession, that physio (who is a respected clinician) might have helped the profession with producing more currently relevant work. Having said that, they are entitled to do their PhD on whatever they want

I do stuff that works. Not because someone told me how to but because it makes sense and I use my clinical reasoning to select which patients I use these things on. Physiobase's comments on the best average approach is true. What tends to happen is that people latch on to a finding and then apply to it all with disappointment.

A good example of what I would consider a good research method is the work of Peter O'Sullivan. He has developed a classification system for chronic low back pain. By going through the process of identifying, classifying, testing inter-tester reliability, etc I hope to see that people can use this system to do research into effective treatment strategies, streamline diagnosis, etc.

His work has opened my eyes and explained why some of my patients need to actually do less exercises (excessive compression - active extension pattern). I had one lady who was the most diligent patient at doing core stability and gym-based exercises and had chronic pain for 4 years. Her problem was that her muscles were compressing her too much. She is now leading a pain free life in only a few months of "learning" how to "relax" and be "sloppy" - which means get back to more normal tone.

In summary, better research questions into more relevant topics to support our profession.

Am I making sense?