This 1.5 to 2 day lecture-demonstration workshop will review the current thoughts on clinical spinal instability, its possible etiology, efficient Physical Therapy assessment and intervention methods and communication of diagnosis and outcomes. A fourteen-hour course will include a three-hour lab session.
This course focuses on the indications, contraindications, and techniques for high velocity, low amplitude (HVLAT) manipulation techniques applied to the peripheral joints.
A two-day course focused on the foot, ankle and tibiofibular joints focuses on differential diagnosis,manual therapy assessment and treatment, including all grades of mobilization and manipulation and reviews efficient home interventions. The course will include a review of traumatic injuries, and analysis of the need for stabilization, but orthotics will not be a focus of this course.
This three-day course will focus on the thoracic region, spinal and costal joints. It will include the diagnosis, biomechanical examinations and the manual physical therapy treatment of the thoracic and costal articulations with mobilization and manipulation (thrust). Currently available literature and evidence for examination and intervention will be discussed.
This three-day course teaches efficient assessment and treatment of the multiple parts of the functional shoulder girdle as normal upper quarter function is dependent on controlled motion of all its component parts.
Physical therapists have played a leadership role in developing manipulation. It is essential that it remain a mainstay of physical therapy patient/client management. This two-day course is designed to increase the physical therapists’ knowledge and skills with spinal manipulation. The course will emphasize ergonomically efficient manipulation such that physical therapists with smaller stature can safely and effectively deliver thrust techniques regardless of the size of the patient without causing themselves injury.
This hybrid 3-day course (8 hours online) will focus on the physical and physiological changes of pregnancy, with the goal of equipping orthopedic manual therapists of varying backgrounds to skillfully and confidently work with pregnant women. The course will cover relevant anatomy, physiology, and medical precautions necessary for working with an obstetric population, a population that exceeds 3.7 million US women per year. Specific neurologic and orthopedic topics will be addressed as they relate to the obstetric population including modifications for examination and intervention and common regional dysfunctions. Contemporary exercise guidelines for pregnancy will be outlined and discussed with particular attention to the role of the physical therapist in rehabilitative and general exercise programming, as well as with respect to factors such as bed rest and obesity. Special topics in obstetrics will also be presented to provide participants with requisite knowledge on specialty populations, physical issues, and use of braces and supports within obstetrics.
Dry Needling (DN) is a powerful, adjunctive tool for the orthopaedic manual physical therapist. Understanding the genesis of myofascial pain, applicable pain science, the mechanisms of DN, application to orthopaedic diagnoses, and the proper historical context is crucial to understanding the theory of DN. However, when not placed in the context of a thorough subjective history, a comprehensive neuromusculoskeletal examination, and appropriate differential diagnosis, it can be challenging to accurately identify the most appropriate patients and achieve optimal patient outcomes. This course is designed to bridge the gap between DN theory to how this tool can be integrated into clinical practice seamlessly by presenting a case based clinical reasoning approach to DN in order to provide first time exposure and education to clinicians on DN as well as review and improve effective technique with clinicians currently utilizing DN. With concerns about complications from the invasive nature of dry needling, ample amount of lab time will be spent on surface anatomy and palpation to ensure accurate location of relevant regional anatomy and safety of technique.
Overhead athletes require special characteristics to allow them the mobility and stability to perform their sport. There are considerable anatomical and biomechanical kinetic chain concepts that the physical therapist must understand to treat these athletes appropriately. Normal upper quarter function is dependent upon controlled and sequenced motion of all component parts; the lower quarter also plays a major role in setting up the upper quarter to perform properly. During this course, these anatomical and biomechanical considerations of the entire kinetic chain will be covered in detail, along with extensive lab time for mastering examination and intervention skills. A range of overhead sports will be covered with a review of the differences between each. Advanced techniques such as video analysis, scrutiny of the pitcher’s mechanics, and live demonstration of an overhead athlete evaluation will be incorporated into this course.
Current evidence is rapidly evolving for the orthopedic manual care of the patient with recent or remote history of Motor Vehicle accident trauma. Do you know where to begin?
When presented with a case like this, how do you know if it is safe to examine or perform joint mobilization/manipulation techniques? Are their headache or pain complaints cervicogenic, TMD, vestibular or concussion related? What common differential diagnoses do you need to assess? Do you need to provide vestibular therapy along with your manual therapy techniques?
What is the best sequence of evaluation and treatment for this patient population? What are the expected outcomes for a given patient and who might be a candidate for cervical facet injections? How could you assess and treat the cervicothoracic region as a movement system with respect to functional tasks?
Current medical practice dictates that we are efficient and effective medical providers, whether we encounter this patient as an acute triage in an Emergency room PT practice or a direct access visit. This patient population provides a breadth of possible biopsychosocial dysfunction that you need to be able to accurately assess and treat or make the appropriate referrals out to other medical providers. Often, a seemingly minor MVA or trauma can result in complex functional dysfunctions. This course content would also be applicable to other upper quarter neuro-orthopedic traumatic injury out- patient care.
