Dorsch S1
1Australian Catholic University, Physiotherapy, Sydney, Australia
Background: Research has shown that hundreds of repetitions of practice are required to promote neural plasticity. In many context physiotherapists are attempting to promote neural plasticity for skill acquisition, for example, to change muscle recruitment patterns to avoid musculoskeletal injury, or to improve task performance after acquired brain damage. However, observational studies show that physiotherapists do not often give instructions that encourage a high number of repetitions. Furthermore, there is very limited research on how instructions influence the amount of repetitions someone completes. Knowledge about the types of instructions that encourage a greater number of repetitions of practice would be invaluable to physiotherapists across many areas of physiotherapy.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of different instructions on the numbers of repetitions of a task that people complete.
Methods: An activity was studied under a baseline condition and under the delivery of three different instructions. The participants were allied health professionals attending a one day workshop on Increasing practice in rehabilitation. In order to mitigate the effect of the order that the instructions were given in, the order of the three different instructions was randomised across six workshops, hence allowing each possible order to be tested. The activity used was sit to stand for 30 seconds and the three instructions were;
1. Stand up and sit down for 30 seconds, count your repetitions
2. Stand up and sit down for 30 seconds, count your repetitions. Shouted encouragement was used at 20, 15, 10 and 5 seconds such as Go Go Go, halfway there .Go Go Go, 10 seconds to go
3. Stand up and sit down for 30 seconds, count your repetitions. It's a competition and there's a prize for the winner. A small prize such as a chocolate bar was used.
The instruction for the baseline measure was simply, Now stand up and sit down
Results: The measures of repetitions of sit to stand were taken across 152 participants attending six workshops with an average of .participants in each workshop.
The results were as follows:
Baseline measure; repetitions 13.9 (SD 5.4, range 1 to 35)
Instruction 1; average repetitions 23.5 (SD 6.8, range 10 to 45)
Instruction 2; average repetitions 28.5 (SD 6.4, range 14 to 46)
Instruction 3; average repetitions 28.2 (SD 6.6, range 3 to 45)
Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant difference between the baseline amount of repetitions and all types of instructions and significant difference between the instruction 1) and Instructions 2) and 3). There was no significant difference between instructions 2) and 3).
Conclusion(s): The instructions given can have a profound effect on the amount of repetitions of a task that people complete, with a doubling of repetitions from the baseline measure to the most encouraging types of instructions.
Implications: In the context of motor skill acquisition when many repetitions of practice are required to change performance physiotherapists can use specific instructions to influence the number of repetitions people complete.
Keywords: Practice, Intensity, skill acquisition
Funding acknowledgements: Nil
Purpose: The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of different instructions on the numbers of repetitions of a task that people complete.
Methods: An activity was studied under a baseline condition and under the delivery of three different instructions. The participants were allied health professionals attending a one day workshop on Increasing practice in rehabilitation. In order to mitigate the effect of the order that the instructions were given in, the order of the three different instructions was randomised across six workshops, hence allowing each possible order to be tested. The activity used was sit to stand for 30 seconds and the three instructions were;
1. Stand up and sit down for 30 seconds, count your repetitions
2. Stand up and sit down for 30 seconds, count your repetitions. Shouted encouragement was used at 20, 15, 10 and 5 seconds such as Go Go Go, halfway there .Go Go Go, 10 seconds to go
3. Stand up and sit down for 30 seconds, count your repetitions. It's a competition and there's a prize for the winner. A small prize such as a chocolate bar was used.
The instruction for the baseline measure was simply, Now stand up and sit down
Results: The measures of repetitions of sit to stand were taken across 152 participants attending six workshops with an average of .participants in each workshop.
The results were as follows:
Baseline measure; repetitions 13.9 (SD 5.4, range 1 to 35)
Instruction 1; average repetitions 23.5 (SD 6.8, range 10 to 45)
Instruction 2; average repetitions 28.5 (SD 6.4, range 14 to 46)
Instruction 3; average repetitions 28.2 (SD 6.6, range 3 to 45)
Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant difference between the baseline amount of repetitions and all types of instructions and significant difference between the instruction 1) and Instructions 2) and 3). There was no significant difference between instructions 2) and 3).
Conclusion(s): The instructions given can have a profound effect on the amount of repetitions of a task that people complete, with a doubling of repetitions from the baseline measure to the most encouraging types of instructions.
Implications: In the context of motor skill acquisition when many repetitions of practice are required to change performance physiotherapists can use specific instructions to influence the number of repetitions people complete.
Keywords: Practice, Intensity, skill acquisition
Funding acknowledgements: Nil
Topic: Professional practice: other; Musculoskeletal; Orthopaedics
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: Australian Catholic University
Ethics committee: Australian Catholic University Human research and ethics committee
Ethics number: 2016-144E
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
