March 23, 2022: APTA's collection of evidence-based practice resources is always growing and includes everything from tests and measures to full-scale clinical practice guidelines, some of which have been developed through collaborations with APTA academies.

Here's a roundup of recently added resources — all free to members.

Clinical Summary of Functional Movement Disorders. Functional movement disorders, characterized by what this summary describes as "a sudden onset of neurological symptoms resulting in abnormal involuntary movements with symptom variability that cannot be explained by a conventional neurological or medical disorder," are not well-understood. This summary helps to provide clarification, and includes information on classification, examination, prognosis, intervention, and medical management.

Multi-Directional Reach Test, Reach in Four Directors Test. The test, also known as MDRT, measures balance and the limits of stability in anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions, allowing clinicians to assess an individual's limits of stability when their center of gravity is shifted outside their base of support. It's most commonly administered to older adults.

The IMPROVE VTE Risk Model. Intended for use with patients who are critically ill, the IMPROVE tool is used to identify risk of developing venous thromboembolism by identifying the probability of major or clinically important in-hospital bleeding from time of admission to as many as 14 days afterwards. This summary includes information on use of this test on 15,155 hospitalized patients in 52 hospitals across 12 countries.

Expanded Disability Status Scale. This neurologic evaluation of multiple sclerosis, offered through the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, is a popular assessment that is used to help rate disability. It's been used in "virtually every major clinical trial that has been conducted in MS during the last four decades," according to NMSS.

Short Physical Performance Battery. An especially helpful tool to aid in evaluating the functional mobility of an adult's lower extremities, the SPPB employs a balance test, gait speed test, and chair stand test.

Interventions for the Management of Acute and Chronic Low Back Pain: Revision 2021. The guide updates the clinical practice guideline for low back pain developed in 2012 by what was then known as the Orthopaedic Section of APTA, now the APTA Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. The update provides recommendations on interventions provided by PTs, and adds more focus on LBP in older adults, leg pain associated with LBP, and postoperative LBP

Hamstring Strain Injury in Athletes. The APTA Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy and the association’s American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy collaborated to produce this clinical practice guideline on sports-related overloading and overstretching injuries in any combination of the three hamstring muscles.

Patient Health Questionnaire. This nine-item questionnaire, sometimes referred to as the PHQ-9, is designed to help clinicians assess the presence and severity of depressive symptoms in patients.

Cerebellar Dysfunction Clinical Summary. This resource explores cerebellar dysfunction, defined as "a collective term used to describe hereditary or acquired conditions impacting one of more cerebellar hemispheres" that can be related to a range of diagnoses, including Parkinson disease, Huntington disease, multiple sclerosis, and chronic toxin exposure. The summary addresses symptoms, underlying diagnoses, epidemiology, ICF classification, recommended tests and measures, and more.