Can individuals experiencing difficulty with functional mobility benefit from physical therapy to help them return to normal activities?
Outcome Measurement Tests
Outcome measurement tests assess the effects of a treatment plan on a patient. They can be used to determine a patient’s baseline function, monitor their progress, and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. They also give the therapy team an effective way to measure mobility, flexibility, and range of motion.
Function and Purpose
Outcome measurement tests serve various purposes. These include: (American Physical Therapy Association, N.D.)
- To assist in goal-setting
- Provide motivation
- To guide treatment
- To give a prognosis for the specific condition
- To justify the treatment
The physical therapist may use other functional outcome measurements to help assess physical therapy progress.
- They may measure your strength and range of motion.
- Balance and posture may be evaluated.
Effective functional outcome measurement tests must meet certain criteria to be useful in a physical therapy clinic. First, they must be reliable, meaning the results must …