Physicourses Modalities

Blood Flow Restriction: Real Tool or Fake News

What is blood flow restriction (BFR)? What patients can I use this for and in what ways? Is it safe? These are some of the common questions surrounding the usage of BFR in a rehabilitation setting. BFR is an increasingly popular way to promote strength gains with current literature providing evidence supporting its use in select patient populations. Current training guidelines recommend resistance training at 60-80% of an individual's one repetition maximum (RM) in order to induce muscle hypertrophy and improve strength. However, achieving adequate levels of resistance may be contraindicated and dangerous in many post-operative or elderly patients. Inadequate strengthening and exercise loads can lead to lack of desired outcomes. This program will inform clinicians on the uses and benefits of BFR in the rehabilitation setting, including safety recommendations and guidelines. It will provide a review of the current literature surrounding this modality, debunk myths, and assist clinicians in determining whether its use is indicated for their patients.

Kinesiology Taping for the Hand and Wrist

Catherine Valentino, OTD, OTR/L, MHSc, MAAL, BS, FMT

Kinesiology taping has become a main-stream approach to numerous diagnoses and functional deficits. This course will explore a combination application and functional facilitation approach to improve outcomes and client satisfaction with a number of complications. There will be guided video application as well as follow-through reasoning on approach techniques. We will examine the use of kinesiology tape for symptom management and objective gains in order to produce measurable outcomes for our clientele. A variety of techniques and taping products will be presented to give therapists many options of what is both available to treat their patients, and how to best use the tape and techniques. Attendees will be guided through clinical options for taping techniques to apply the next day in their clinic. Objective motion, strength, and edema management as well as subjective symptoms management will be addressed for a holistic approach to client needs. Participants will take away an improved understanding of documentation language and skill application to promote effective documentation and patient communication.Highlights Application process and techniques for kinesiology taping of the forearm, wrist, and hand Improve your knowledge and critical thinking for application and functional facilitation

Dry Needling Evidence-Based Concepts and Essential Skills

John Gwilliam, PT, MHA, CWS, Cert. DN

Dry needling is a practice that has been around for many decades, but over the last 10 years, it has emerged as one of the most effective strategies to address and improve neuromuscular and musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain.With established and emerging evidence, various models and methods have been developed to use this intervention to help reduce pain, improve motion, and restore function. This course will provide participants tools and resources to assist the therapist in determining when and how to utilize dry needling for the benefit of each patient. Participants will review current evidence and best practice recommendations. In addition, participants will be provided an overview of various techniques and approaches for dry needling, including case presentations and outcomes.Highlights Evidence supporting dry needling as an intervention approach to help alleviate musculoskeletal limitations and pain Essential concepts for when and how to incorporate dry needling into the plan of care

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy has been utilized in the therapy world since the beginning, yet we still are discovering new methods and effects. This course aims to educate the learner on cryotherapy evidence and enhance the understanding of this often-misunderstood technique. Therapeutic benefits, risks, indications, and contraindications will be reviewed. Lab demonstrations of various application methods will be introduced. Additionally, reimbursement and possible future uses will be discussed.Highlights Effective, evidence-based cryotherapy interventions for multiple problem areas Therapeutic benefits, risks, indications, and contraindications Coding, billing, and reimbursement for cryotherapy Integrate learning to your PT/OT/AT practice through case examples and demonstrations

Therapeutic Kinesiology Taping for Children With Neurological Impairments

Chrys Kub, PT, MSPT, C-NDT

Children with neurological impairments benefit from improved sensory perceptive information coming into their nervous system. Therapeutic kinesiology taping can facilitate muscle activity, inhibit abnormal muscle activity, assist to reposition joints, support postural alignment, and improve proprioception for better functional outcomes. some of the benefits of therapeutic kinesiology taping include providing stability of joints while allowing full range of motion, unloading tissue via decompression for improved sliding of myofascial layers and providing enhanced motor control through a novel stimulus during movement for improved body awareness. Evidence-based research suggests that clinicians who incorporate kinesiology taping into their treatment plan note improvement in the postural control and functional activities with both, upper and lower limbs, and increase in functional independency.Participants of this course will learn to implement kinesiology taping for the most common problems in the pediatric patient with neuromotor disorders such as: truncal hypotonia, shoulder girdle instability, and extremity dysfunction. Participants will leave with practical and effective kinesiology taping skills they can integrate into their toolbox the next day to improve therapeutic outcomes.HighlightsTherapeutic kinesiology taping interventions for common dysfunctions in the neurological pediatric patient, such as truncal hypotonia, shoulder girdle instability, and extremity dysfunction...

Kinesiology Taping for Respiratory, Oral Motor, and Speech Related Issues

Kristin L. Sanders, PT, MPT, PCS

Kinesiology tape has been utilized since the 1970s by many healthcare and sports medicine professionals. While often thought of as a treatment for athletes, kinesiology taping is very versatile to address the needs of a wide variety of patient populations. This modality supplements, and as needed, replaces your handling and prompting to improve the functioning of clients both during and after sessions. Augment your current treatment techniques to advance your practice and better serve your clients' needs.This course will empower participants to integrate kinesiology tape into their practice with clients from pediatrics to older adults. After a review of the background information and principles of taping, this course will provide "tape along with the instructor" lab practices. Participants will learn to safely and effectively apply therapeutic tape to improve outcomes related to oral motor skills, respiration, and speech. Participants will leave with effective evidence-based kinesiology taping strategies to integrate into their toolbox the next day, in person or via telehealth to improve therapeutic outcomes.The content of this program is germane to children, students and clients ages 0- 12.HighlightsKinesiology taping applications to effectively treat issues outside of the traditional including respiration, articulation, feeding, bruxism, droolingHands-on labs to practice and review taping principles which you can safely and effectively use the next day

The Fundamentals of Therapeutic and Kinesiology Taping

William Oswald PT, DPT, OCS

Improve your effectiveness in hundreds of clinical conditions with a rehabilitative taping technique that is safe for populations ranging from pediatric to geriatric. Kinesiology taping facilitates the body's natural healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting movement. Its ability to lift the skin off the neural and sensory receptors provides therapeutic benefit that can be worn for several days. The effects can include enhancing muscle function, improving circulation, providing pain relief, and repositioning of a subluxed joint.Through an integrated format of lecture and hands-on labs, you will review the evidence for therapeutic and kinesiology taping, and learn specific taping protocols that can be quickly integrated into practice. Kinesiology tape can be a valuable clinical tool used in conjunction with other treatments and modalities to have immediate positive effects on movement and performance, while reducing pain and improving clinical outcomes for your clients and patients.HighlightsApplying evidence for therapeutic and kinesiology tapingIndications and contraindications of taping for various conditions.Hands-on labs for taping the spine, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, knee, and ankleCombine kinesiology taping in conjunction with other treatments and modalities to achieve immediate functional resultsMaster the fundamentals and indications of specific taping protocols that can be quickly integrated into practice