Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, Des Moines University, 3200 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2010 Apr 1;10:12. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-10-12.
The Feldenkrais Method(R) of somatic education purports to guide people of varying ages and abilities to improve function. Many people choose this method to aid with recovery from injury, manage chronic conditions, or enhance performance even though limited research supporting its safety and effectiveness exists to guide decisions about use and referral. Very little information about practitioner characteristics and practice patterns is publicly available to assist researchers in the design of appropriate safety and effectiveness studies. The purpose of this study was to obtain an initial overview of the characteristics of United States Guild Certified Feldenkrais PractitionersCM.
Of 1300 certified Feldenkrais practitioners at the time of the study, there were 1193 practitioners with email accounts who were sent invitations to complete a web-based survey. The survey inquired about practice locations, additional credentials, service patterns and workloads during the previous 3 months. Response rate and descriptive statistics were calculated.
The survey had a 32.3% (385/1193) response rate. The top states in which responders practiced were California (n = 92) and New York (n = 44). Most responders did not hold other credentials as traditional health care providers or as complementary and alternative medicine providers. Among those who did, the most common credentials were physical therapist (n = 83) and massage therapist (n = 38). Just over a third of traditional health care providers only provided Feldenkrais lessons, compared to 59.3% of complementary and alternative providers. On average, responders saw 7.6 +/- 8.1 (median = 5) clients per week for individual lessons, 8.4 +/- 11.5 (median = 5) clients per week for group lessons, and 2.9 +/- 3.9 (median = 2) new clients per month for individual lessons.
This preliminary survey of United States Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioners indicated that most practiced in the west and northeast, did not hold additional credentials, and had part-time practices. Those who were traditional health care providers were more likely than complementary and alternative medicine providers in other areas to combine their services. These results provide a foundation for further analyses of Feldenkrais practitioner characteristics and practice patterns that can aid the design of safety and effectiveness studies, and enhance use and referral decision-making.
费登奎斯方法（R）的躯体教育声称可以指导不同年龄和能力的人改善功能。许多人选择这种方法来帮助从伤害中恢复，管理慢性疾病，或提高表现，尽管存在有限的研究支持其安全性和有效性，以指导关于使用和转介的决策。关于从业者的特征和实践模式的信息很少公开，以帮助研究人员设计适当的安全性和有效性研究。本研究的目的是获得美国公会认证的费登奎斯从业者的初步概况。
在研究时，有 1300 名认证的费登奎斯从业者，其中有 1193 名从业者有电子邮件账户，他们被邀请完成一个基于网络的调查。该调查询问了前 3 个月的实践地点、额外的凭证、服务模式和工作量。计算了响应率和描述性统计数据。
调查的响应率为 32.3%（385/1193）。回答者在加利福尼亚州（n = 92）和纽约州（n = 44）的实践人数最多。大多数回答者没有担任传统医疗保健提供者或补充和替代医学提供者的其他凭证。在那些有凭证的人中，最常见的凭证是物理治疗师（n = 83）和按摩治疗师（n = 38）。只有三分之一的传统医疗保健提供者只提供费登奎斯课程，而补充和替代提供者则有 59.3%。平均而言，回答者每周为个人课程提供 7.6 +/- 8.1（中位数= 5）名客户，每周为小组课程提供 8.4 +/- 11.5（中位数= 5）名客户，每月为个人课程提供 2.9 +/- 3.9（中位数= 2）名新客户。
这项对美国公会认证的费登奎斯从业者的初步调查表明，大多数从业者在西部和东北部地区执业，没有额外的凭证，并且是兼职执业。那些传统的医疗保健提供者比其他领域的补充和替代医学提供者更有可能将他们的服务结合起来。这些结果为进一步分析费登奎斯从业者的特征和实践模式提供了基础，这可以帮助设计安全性和有效性研究，并增强使用和转介决策。
