Physicourses Sports Medicine

Optimal Rehab and Performance of the Overhead Athlete

Joseph Villena, PT, MPT, OCS, CSCS, COMT

An overhead athlete can be defined as an athlete that performs repeated sports-related activities in an overhead position. This can encompass numerous sports involving typical throwing motions like baseball or football to sports that require high degrees of overhead acceleration and velocity like volleyball and tennis. An overhead athlete may also play a sport that requires high levels of upper extremity power like gymnastics or Olympic weightlifting. It is imperative that health care providers that treat overhead athletes have a thorough understanding of overhead sports biomechanics, knowledge of appropriate evidence-based assessments, and a strong foundation in exercise prescription concepts to properly rehabilitate this particular athletic population. This comprehensive 2-hour course will help attendees expand their clinical skills and knowledge to effectively treat the overhead athlete, prepare them for return to sport, and help them optimize their athletic performance.Highlights Develop a thorough understanding of the basic biomechanics of the overhead athlete to identify major impairments and improve your assessment and treatment strategies Utilize evidence-based testing to determine if a patient is ready to return to sport Immediately apply practical and effective exercises to not only help resolve your patient’s symptoms and impairments, but improve their overall sports performance

Differential Diagnosis of Headaches Post Concussion

Cristin Beazley, PT, DPT, CBIS

Concussion is a common injury that is often poorly identified and poorly managed. It can occur with a variety of mechanisms and affects all ages. These injuries can recover on their own but often (10-30%) of individuals will have persistent symptoms. There are a variety of symptoms that can be present after a concussive injury and often headache is one of the most common. Research has shown that individualized treatment results in the best outcomes secondary to the multiple systems that are impacted after these injuries.1 A challenge to concussion management is that none of the symptoms that are often reported are unique to the injury itself. It is essential that clinicians who work with client's post-concussion have a clear understanding of the variety of possible contributing factors to the symptom presentation so that they can create a targeted plan of intervention. This individualized plan and understanding will ensure optimal patient outcomes.This course will highlight the variety of physiological impairments and systems that can contribute to headache presentation. We will review differential diagnosis as well as targeted interventions to achieve optimal outcomes and patient recovery. The course will present a variety of strategies as well as case studies to help support differential diagnosis strategy. There will also be objective measures including questionnaires, assessments of the cervical spine, vestibular/oculomotor systems, and evaluation of the autonomic nervous...

Evaluation and Treatment of the Hip in the Adolescent Athlete

Young athletes sustain a significant amount of injuries participating in sports. The unique nature of the adolescent musculoskeletal system requires developing an understanding of the physical/ physiological differences between adolescent and adult athletes. Effective management of these athletes in the rehabilitation setting demands the practitioner understands both how and why these athletes need to be treated differently than adults. This course will help the clinician to develop an understanding of the adolescent musculoskeletal system. It will also address commonly encountered hip injuries in the adolescent athlete, and how to best manage these injuries to help the athlete successfully return to their sport.Highlights Immediately improve your understanding of the specific hip injuries seen in younger athletes Evidence-based treatment strategies to manage the return to sport process in young athletes with hip injuries

Advanced Concepts in Post-Operative ACL Rehabilitation

Joseph Villena, PT, MPT, OCS, CSCS, COMT

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries represent more than 50% of knee injuries and affects more than 200,000 people in the United States each year. The vast majority of patients who suffer an ACL injury will undergo surgical reconstruction, with annual costs associated with treatment and rehabilitation estimated at $3 billion. Expectations for rehab professionals who treat ACL injuries post-operatively are to utilize an evidence-based approach when determining appropriate exercises and progressions for treatment. This innovative 2-hour course will help attendees expand their clinical skills and knowledge of evidence-based testing and training to optimize their post-operative rehab programs when taking their patients from injury to recovery to full return to sport.Highlights Develop a thorough understanding of the anatomy and biomechanics of the anterior cruciate ligament, the major differences between various ACL graft types, and the critical time points during the healing process after surgery Strengthen your clinical decision making when determining which activities (running, plyometrics, speed and agility training, sports specific drills, etc.) are appropriate throughout the continuum of post-operative ACL rehab Obtain practical exercise tools utilizing the various concepts of periodization, neuromuscular re- education, open and closed kinetic chain exercises, and neuroplasticity to enhance your treatment approach the next day Immediately apply effective, evidence-base...

Evaluation & Treatment of the Knee in the Adolescent Athlete

Paul Frizelle, PT, DPT, MS, OCS, MTC, CSCS, PES, CES

Knee injuries account for 15% of all interscholastic sport- related injuries. These knee injuries often result in both negative short-term and long-term quality of life reports. This presentation will help to develop an understanding of the unique physiological and anatomical aspects of the adolescent athlete. Participants will review commonly encountered knee injuries in the adolescent athlete. Finally, the course will present evidence-based evaluation and treatment strategies to help these individuals return to their ADLs and the sport activities they love.HighlightsImmediately improve the way you assess and treat the most encountered knee injuries in young athletesEffective rehabilitation strategies for management of adolescent knee patients in all phases of rehab that you can implement with minimal equipment

Evaluation & Treatment of the Adolescent Athlete Elbow & Wrist

Paul Frizelle, PT, DPT, MS, OCS, MTC, CSCS, PES, CES

Young athletes sustain a significant amount of injuries participating in sports. 38% of young, elite tennis players were found to have sustained overuse wrist injuries. Gymnastics, rowing, martial arts, combat sports, baseball and volleyball are just a few examples of the sports which may cause higher risk for injuries to the elbow and wrist. The unique nature of the adolescent musculoskeletal system requires an understanding of the physical/physiological differences between adolescent and adult athletes. This course will help the clinician to develop an understanding of the adolescent musculoskeletal system. Participants will also address commonly encountered elbow and wrist injuries in the adolescent athlete, and how to best manage these injuries to help the athlete successfully return to their sport.HighlightsImmediately improve your ability to identify wrist and elbow injuries specific to the young athletePractical therapeutic exercise and manual therapy techniques to use in the rehabilitation process

Management & Treatment of Concussions

Naseem Chatiwala, PT, DPT, MS, NCS

The paradigm of concussion management has shifted from total rest to active recovery. Despite advances in the assessment, diagnosis, prognosis, and management of the patient with concussion and its varied sequelae, this shift emphasizes the need for ongoing research and new innovative methods to improve interdisciplinary care in concussion management. The complex nature of a concussive injury involves multiple systems and the overall heterogeneity of the patient, calling for collaborative efforts from the heath care team. The symptoms can vary from person to person, but typically fall into four categories: somatic (physical), cognitive, affective (emotional), and sleep. Professionals involved in the care after concussion may include the physician, nurse practitioner (NP), physical therapist (PT), neuropsychologist, speech-language pathologist (SLP), and occupational therapist (OT) functioning as the core medical team. Research shows an establishment of a multidisciplinary clinic and providing a standardized protocol for concussion care results in significantly decreased institutional resource utilization and more consistent care among young patients with sports concussion.This course will lay out an understanding of roles and responsibilities of PT, OT and SLP, interprofessional communication and team work as they pertain to management of a patient with concussion. PT lens will cover cervical, vestibular, and graded exercises prescription that can contribute to dizziness, hea...

A Comprehensive Approach to Sports Rehab

Joseph Villena, PT, MPT, OCS, CSCS, COMT

Now more than ever, people are more active and are participating in athletic and recreational activities ranging from running to extreme sports resulting in a number of orthopedic injuries. Expectations in the rehabilitation of these injuries are to utilize an evidence-based approach to develop appropriate exercise programs. Therefore, it is imperative that the orthopedic rehab professional have a strong understanding of all aspects of evidence-based research on exercise and sports science to create the link from injury to recovery to full return to sport.This innovative course combines basic concepts of physics, biomechanics, and physiology with movement analysis to help participants develop sport specific training programs. Participants will learn how to systematically break down fundamental athletic movements using current research, in depth discussions, and video analysis. Evidence-based protocols for upper and lower extremity return to sport will be introduced as well as the concept of periodization. Participants will return to their practice with multiple tools to maximize recovery from injury for every patient from the weekend warrior to the professional athlete.HighlightsDevelop sound clinical reasoning strategies utilizing a combination of exercise physiology, biomechanics, and evidence based research to develop more comprehensive strength and endurance exercises for rehabilitationBecome a movement expert! Enhance your clinical skills to systematically break down com...

Essentials for Assessing and Treating the Pediatric Orthopedic and Sports Patient

Eric Bellm, PT, DPT, OCS

Treating our pediatric population more effectively not only allows us to alleviate their pain and return them back to activities quicker, but it also helps us make them better movers into their adult years. There are many differences that are easily noticed between the adult and pediatric population. It is essential that health care providers know all the ins and outs of their pediatric population to ensure they are giving the safest and most effective care. The pediatric patient has many variables to consider, including the ever-changing musculoskeletal system and the developing psychosocial system that play a major role in their healthcare.This workshop will equip attendees with the latest evidence-based evaluation and treatment skills needed to effectively treat their pediatric patients. Lecture sessions will highlight the essentials that clinicians need when working with pediatric spine, upper extremity, and lower extremity patients. Special focus will be placed on lab sessions, which will equip attendees with tools for assessing and treating patients when they return to the clinic the next day.*Hands on lab will be modified for Web based delivery formats into recorded demonstrationsHighlightsExpand your practice to better treat pediatric patients with both orthopedic and sports injuriesImprove your evaluation and diagnosing skills by practicing the most evidence-based tools for your pediatric populationEffective exercise and manual treatments to get your pediatric patien...