Abstract
Objective
To investigate the effect of spectators on the performance of a physiotherapy exercise.
Design
Observational study.
Setting
Research laboratory, Trinity College Dublin.
Participants
Forty adult volunteer subjects (36 females, four males). As there were only four males, these were excluded from the analysis.
Interventions
Subjects were observed and timed while performing single leg stance in two conditions 48hours apart; once with the investigator present (investigator condition) and once with the investigator and three spectators present (spectator condition).
Main outcome measure
Duration of single leg stance in seconds.
Results
The mean duration of single leg stance, for females, under the investigator condition was 173seconds [95% confidence interval (CI) 131 to 214], while that of the spectator condition was 168seconds (95%CI 128 to 208). The mean difference between the two conditions was 5seconds (95%CI −21 to 31). This was not statistically significant using a paired t-test (P=0.686).
Conclusions
Female performance of a straightforward exercise such as single leg stance was not affected by the presence of three spectators.
Citation
Effect of spectators on the performance of a physiotherapy exercise
Jeremy Walsh, Geraldine Gill
Physiotherapy - June 2008 (Vol. 94, Issue 2, Pages 163-167, DOI: 10.1016/j.physio.2007.07.008)