Research Made Simple

On April 18, 2011, in Continuing Education, by jcubos

Here are two excellent resources that may provide fitness and rehabilitation professionals with the opportunity to elevate their games in their respective industry. With the vast amount of “knowledge” currently being transferred over the internet these days, it may seem overwhelming to some, especially those new in the field, to decipher what methods are valid and which theories hold true merit.

Research Review Service is an online resource for fitness professionals as well as manual and rehabilitative therapists provided by Dr. Shawn Thistle of which I contribute to. This website provides practical and clinically applicable reviews on a weekly basis enabling subscribers to stay up to date with the most current literature. From therapeutic approaches to low back pain to orthopaedic testing to physiological principles of exercise interventions, Research Review Service not only keeps you up to date with the published literature but also provides a critical approach to the methods by which these studies have been performed. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this service, I highly suggest you take a peek at the 10 20 research summaries that Dr. Thistle graciously provided. Have a look and tell me what you think.

Just recently, my good friend Mark Young launched his new product, How to Read Fitness Research. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to take an early look at this valuable and inexpensive resource and while I hold a graduate degree myself, it was nice to be able to utilize the time to refresh my memory on some of the important principles surrounding the research process. Mark introduces the purpose of and foundation upon which research lies as well as provides simple strategies for accessing published literature. Additionally, he devotes and entire presentation to explaining statistical principles, concepts of which we all must understand if we are going to make a living providing our services in health related industries. As a side note, I cannot stress enough that the most important section of a research article is its “methods” and Mark takes the time to share the same sentiments. If you are new to the fitness field or simply want a refresher on how to interpret the literature, then I highly suggest you take a look at what this product has to offer.

If you have any questions on any of the above services, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you read this blog on a regular basis then you will understand how important evidence and education plays in the implementation of your services. I, myself, will continue to provide you with the regular “looking at the literature” summaries but if you want to take that next step then I highly suggest you have a look at both Research Review Service and How to Read Fitness Research.