Physiotherapy, M ay 1986, vol 42 no 2 63 d oz e n “r e s e a r c h ” pa pe rs have been su b m it te d via the N .E .C . fo r the 1987 W . C .P . T . C on gress. P er u s al o f the H .S . R . C . a n d C . S . l . R . registers reveals little w o rk by p hy si o th e ra p is ts ; mos t projects listed a p p e a r to have trickled into e xtinc tion . • T o mai nta in a register of phys iotherapists with higher degrees a n d / o r those active in research. D u r i n g 1987 a yearly survey will be ins titute d in o r d e r to ide nt if y active re se arc he rs, th e ir fields o f in terest an d th ei r willingness to act as a res ource pers on. In this way it is h op ed to establish a resource p oo l which will be available to new researchers. • T o design fu t u re Congres se s to ca te r for inte rac tion between res earchers in ce rt ain fields. T h e 1987 C o n g re ss C o m m i t t e e is giving t h o u g h t to this aspect • T o en c o u r a g e S pecial Int erest G r o u p s / A s s o c i a t i o n s to involve th ei r m em b er s in res earch p r o g r a m m e s co un tr yw id e. S p e ci al iz at io n ca n on ly be jus tified by research findings. T h e So ciety has no less th a n five special in t e r e s t G r o u p s / A s s o c i a t i o n s , viz: th e L e c t u r e r s ’ G r o u p , the M a n i p u la t iv e T h e r a p i s t s ’ G r o u p , the N at io n al Ho spital G r ou p , the O bstetrica l Association an d the P ri v a te P r a c t i t i o n e r s ’ A ss o ci a tio n. It is an in d i c tm e n t th a t only on e g r o u p has pr ov id ed any research p u b li ca ti o ns — a single article. 3. T o establish a d e q u a te findings fo r research in p h y sio ­ th e ra p y In t e rm e d ia te objectives • Exist ing fu n d i n g facilities have been investigated a n d a list com piled. • It is h o p e d th a t a R e se ar ch F u n d m ay be f o u nd ed a n d ad m i n is te re d by the S . A . S . P . T h is fund initially would m a k e a w a rd s for: the rese arc h article o f th e year (annu al ly) th e best re s ea rc h p a p e r delivered at C on gr es s (biennially) t h e b e s t s t u d e n t r e s e a r c h a r t i c l e p u b l i s h e d (biennially) E v en tu al ly such a fund w ou ld be able to finance a p p r o v e d research projects. • T h e eventual creation of research posts at universities, te a c h in g h os p i ta l s a nd so m e specialized u ni ts is also envis ag ed. A t so m e unive rs ities th e m e c h a n is m for this alr ea d y exists, but p hy si o th e ra p is ts mus t first pro v e themselves in the field o f research. S.I-C. ABSTRACTS M at y as T A an d Bach T M . T h e reliability o f selected te ch ni qu es in clinical a rt h ro m e tr i c s . A u str a lia n J o u rn a l o f P h ysio th era p y 1985; 31(5): 175-199. A n u m b e r o f stud ies which have e x a m i n e d reliability o f spi nal as s ess m en t p ro c e d u r e s in m a n u a l t h e r a p y are reviewed. T h e tests e x a m i n e d were Passive Accessory ln te rv e r te b ra l M o v em e n ts , Passive Ph ysiological lnter- ve rt eb ra l M o v e m e n ts , S t r a i g h t Leg R ais e and F o r w a r d F le xi on . In g ene ral , tests o f p ai n were f o u n d to be m u c h m o r e r e p r o d u c i b l e t h a n tes ts o f c o m p l i a n c e . S tr a ig h t Leg Raise an d F o r w a r d Fle xi on tests were consistently mo re reliable th a n the Passive lnterv erte bral M ov em en t tests. Possible ex p la n a ti o n s for these findings are ad v a n c e d . T h e role o f tests o f c o m p l ia n c e based on passive in te rv er te b ra l m o ve m en ts in clinical decis ion ­ m a k i n g may need to be re - ex am i n e d . A n a p p e n d i x on reliability th eo r y is included f o r the u nin it ia ted reader. A u t h o r s ’ S u m m a r y Hale y S M . P o s t u r a l rea ct io n s in in fa nt s with D o w n S y n d r o m e . R e la t io n s h i p to m o t o r mile st on e d e v e lo p ­ me nt and age. Phys Ther 1986; 66(1): 17-22. 1 e x a m i n e d the em er ge nc e o f a u t o m a t i c p o s t u r a l reactions (righting, eq uil ibr ium an d protective reactions) in a g r o u p o f in fa nt s with D o w n S y n d r o m e a n d in a d e v e l o p m e n t a l l y m a t c h e d g r o u p o f n o n h a n d i c a p p e d inf ants. 1 assessed the re l at i o n sh ip o f p o s t u r a l rea ct ion s to ch ro n o l o g ic a l age a nd to m o t o r mile st on e de v e lo p ­ m en t (as m ea s ur ed by the Bayley Scales o f In fa n t D e v e lo p m e n t) . T h e re la ti on sh ip o f p o s t u r a l react ions to ch ro n o l o g ic a l age was w ea k er in th e infa nts with D o w n S y nd ro m e; a regression analysis revealed a slower rat e o f p o s t u r a l re a c t io n d e v e lo p m e n t evi den t at a n age o f a b o u t five m o n t h s a n d o ld er in in fa nt s with D o w n S y n d r o m e . T h e as s o ci at i o n be twe en p o s t u r a l rea ct ion s a nd m o t o r m il es to ne p e r f o r m a n c e was r e m a r k a b l y si m ila r fo r b o t h in f a n t g r o u p s in degree o f ass o ci a ti o n a n d p a t t e r n acro ss th e s p a n o f m o t o r d e v e lo p m e n t tested. T h e results in di cat ed th a t , even t h o u g h th e rate o f d e v e l o p m e n t d if f e r e d , t h e a s s o c i a t i o n be tw ee n p o s t u r a l rea c tio ns and m o t o r milestones was similar in n o r m a l and delayed d e v e lo p m en t. These results s u p p o r t the c u r r e n t ra t io n a l e th a t p r o m o t e s i n t e rv e n t io n efforts foc us in g on the facili tat ion o f po st u ra l re act ion s to e n h a n c e m o t o r mi les to n e d e v e lo p m e n t in in fa nts with D o w n S y n d ro m e . A u t h o r ’s S u m m a r y R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )