Tactile Teaching Methods Support Students with Visual Impairment in Training for a Career in Chiropractic

Abstract

These skills are beneficial in health care activities requiring manual palpation-for example, early detection of breast cancer (Rakow, Lewandowski, Romejko-Wolniewicz, Peklak, & Knap, 2016) and physiotherapy (Atkinson & Hutchinson, 2013). In Japan and Korea, massage therapy has traditionally been performed by blind practitioners. (Beresford-Cooke, 2016; Smith Nicola, 2018), which suggests other opportunities for employment of blind clinicians (Heidary, Gharebaghi, & Heidary, 2010; Siek, 2015). Chiropractors use a number of tactile techniques to check the spine for misalignments, reduce pain, and restore functionality (Dougherty, 2008). There are 20 chiropractic colleges, 18 of them accredited, in the United States, and another 20 worldwide (American Chiropractic Association, 2019a; The Good Body, 2019). Most programs require applicants to have completed at least 3 years of undergraduate study, and graduates of full-time and accredited programs complete over 4,000 hours of combined study and internship (American Chiropractic Association, 2019b; World Health Organization, 2005). The median income for chiropractors in the United States is over $71,000, and the profession has a 12% projected annual growth rate (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). Chiropractic has a long history, dating back to 1918, of educating students with visual impairments (Rehm, 1998), and a 2014 court ruling reinforced requirements that chiropractic schools provide accommodations for students who are blind (Jaschik, 2014). Much of the chiropractic curriculum is devoted to basic and clinical sciences. With

Effects of a Physical Therapy Intervention to Improve the Quality of Life of Visually Impaired People: Development of an Audio–Tactile Exercise Protocol

“…In physical therapy intervention, the main objective is to guarantee independence in the correct execution of each movement so that there is the gain of physical and functional skills and capabilities that are essential for good motor performance. This motor learning process for individuals with visual impairments can be promoted if the senses of hearing and touch are prioritized as a learning method (Alary et al, 2009; Joshi, Ray, Odierna & Smith, 2019; Urquizo, 2018).…”