Effectiveness of an Assistive Instrument for Physical Therapists with Visual Impairment to Conduct the Muscle Tightness Test

Disability sports have been globally promoted to achieve an inclusive society. However, the current opportunities for people with disabilities are few in terms of participating supporting positions, such as athletic trainers. In Japan, many visual impairment (VI) work physical therapists; thus, they can become active medical staff field. An example a assessment is muscle tightness test (MTT); however, conducting it expected be difficult VI. To improve this difficulty, study developed assistive instrument (AsI) and examined its effectiveness. We recruited 22 therapists The measurement MTT targeted hamstrings, iliopsoas, gastrocnemius, quadriceps. participants performed using universal goniometer (UG) AsI filled up questionnaire. was compared against UG based on three aspects, namely, ease, accuracy, time. significant differences were observed 9 out 12 questionnaire items. mean (SD) score “Comprehensive ease MTT” improved from 2.8 (1.0) 3.9 (0.8). For yielded decrease total error measurement. Lastly, time longer than that UG. Therefore, effective whereas remained issue.