Clustering Assignment Reflection

I found this task to be interesting and beneficial towards my learning. The

spinal condition we chose was cervical fact joints which is very relevant in a
chiropractic environment as a common area of concern. Our group worked
well together and completed the research and the video task well ahead of
time which is rare for me and therefore I enjoyed the organisation of the task.
To ensure everyone took part in the work of the assignment each person was
allocated a specific task to complete which was a simple and effective way to
get the task done. However, because each person was focused on one
particular part of the assignment I didn’t not learn as much about the other
parts of the assignment that were completed by the other members. I think if
this assignment was an individual task I would have learnt more.

I found it helpful to revisit the anatomy of the cervical facet joints and from
there learn about the sensitivity and specificity of orthopaedic tests. It is
important to know that no single test is perfect and will guarantee a diagnosis.
However, choosing a test with highest sensitivity and specificity is the best
solution. This process can help to quantify the ability of a test to produce a
conclusive diagnosis or exclude particular conditions from the diagnosis.
Through clustering, patterns in data can be picked up and subgroups can be
created to group data with similarities. From here a more specific result or
diagnosis can be obtained based on the patterns in the data. Using more than
one piece of data will increase the accuracy of diagnosing specific conditions.
This is helpful to do so in a chiropractic environment by clustering the patient
history and physical exam results to more accurately diagnose presenting
conditions and therefore you have more ability for better patient treatment. I
believe that clustering is an important part of chiropractic practice and should
be used throughout clinics. I found it difficult to find a lot of information on the
topic and therefore It seems as though more clinical research should be done
around clustering and its effects in clinical practice to be more conclusive.