Research
Core And Pelvic Floor Shows Trainers How To Find Research Themselves
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in Core and Pelvic Floor, where finding evidence is taught →
In short: Core and Pelvic Floor teaches research as a second step. The first is the client's goal and hurdles, because without them there are no questions to ask. The second is to search PubMed or Google Scholar instead of relying on a speaker, then rank what turns up with the hierarchy of evidence, where systematic reviews and meta-analyses sit at the top and each study type has its own strengths and weaknesses. The course says plainly that experts in the industry misuse research to sell solutions, and sometimes make things up altogether.
Somewhere in the fitness industry a person with a microphone is explaining a muscle that does not work the way they say it does. The audience nods. The claim is shared. By Thursday it is a fact.
Core and Pelvic Floor deals with this by teaching trainers to look it up. The course starts with the client's goal and hurdles, then sends trainers to PubMed and Google Scholar, then gives them a way to rank what they find.
Key Takeaways
- Goal and hurdles come first. They give you the questions.
- Search the sources yourself instead of relying on a speaker.
- Rank what you find with the hierarchy of evidence.
Step one is the client, not the journal
The Finding Evidence lesson opens on the client's goal and hurdles, and research comes second, because "if we don't know our client's hurdles, we won't have any questions to ask or anything to research."
That puts the research in service of a real person. A trainer who knows what the client is trying to do, and what is in the way, has a sharp question. A sharp question finds a useful paper in minutes. A vague one finds forty tabs.
Then go and look
The course is honest about the landscape. Information reaches trainers from many sources, many experts in the industry misuse research to sell a solution to a problem, and some make things up altogether. The lesson even names one example in a bracket, and it is "deep core".
The remedy it gives is practical. Instead of relying on others, and the course says "even me!", find information about the client's hurdle on PubMed or Google Scholar. The point is that a trainer who can find it can check it, and a trainer who can check it is hard to sell nonsense to.
Then rank it
Not all evidence is the same, so the course teaches the hierarchy of evidence, the ranking of study types by method and risk of bias. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses sit at the top. A companion lesson walks through each type with its advantages and disadvantages: a review is only as good as the studies inside it, and a randomised controlled trial is the gold standard for testing an intervention but can be expensive and may not look like your client.
Nothing in the course asks for an academic background. It asks for a good question, a search, and a way to weigh what comes back.
How the course teaches it
The learning is visual and interactive. Lessons carry diagrams, you listen, read, write your answers or dictate them, and the work is in your own words. Core and Pelvic Floor is one of FASTER's specialist courses, so it sits on top of an existing qualification and does not repeat it.
Core and Pelvic Floor is where this is taught. PT Manager comes free with any FASTER course. It opens when you sign up, and day one is for learning on. Real clients unlock once you have qualified and are on the Trainer Register.
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You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
Core and Pelvic Floor, where finding evidence is taught: every answer marked by a real tutor, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
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Frequently asked
Where does Core and Pelvic Floor say to look for research?
The course points trainers to PubMed and Google Scholar, and says it is more useful to find the information yourself than to rely on other people, the course author included.
What is the hierarchy of evidence?
A ranking of study types by method quality and risk of bias, usually drawn as a pyramid. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses sit at the top, and the course gives the advantages and disadvantages of each type.
Why does the course start with the client's goal?
Without a clear goal and the client's hurdles there are no questions to ask, so there is nothing to research.
When does PT Manager open?
PT Manager opens when you sign up with FASTER, and day one is for learning on. Real clients unlock once you have qualified and are on the Trainer Register.
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