APTA Michigan Pain Summit and Spring Conference

What happens when physical therapy practitioners operate within their implicit bias? In this session, participants will have an opportunity to assess and reflect on their own biases, and how those biases operate in clinical and educational environments. Current research shows the negative impact on health outcomes when implicit bias is not addressed. Strategies to reduce disparities in access to and delivery of health care services will be addressed.

This course will cover rehabilitation of the throwing athlete with emphasis on movement screening and sport specific assessment related to common pathologies in the overhead throwing athlete. The correlation of throwing biomechanical analysis and orthopedic examination will be explored with associated prescription of manual interventions and therapeutic exercise. This course will provide an overview to the specificity of corrective exercise and manual mobilization necessary for full return to sport.

Protocol-based approaches to rehabilitation have been the mainstay of physical therapy since the birth of the profession. Advances in clinical reasoning and decision-making strategies in the last 10 years have seen the development of a process-based approach to psychological and medical practice, but little emphasis on this approach has been made in the rehabilitation world. A process-based approach better manages the nuances of motor behavior and tissue loading capacity than protocol-based approaches. Furthermore, a process-based approach is better suited for working inside of the biopsychosocial model and particularly well suited for complex pain and movement problems. The Human Rehabilitation Framework (HRF) is the first framework in the world for rehabilitation professionals to enter into a process-based approach to evaluation, decision making, intervention, and prognostication. This overview courses provides a broad overview of this approach for physical therapists and physical therapy assistants.

This course will discuss the importance of the physical therapist in the management of chronic hypertension.  Studies have shown that blood pressure and other vital monitoring in outpatient clinics is infrequent despite understanding the importance of these important hemodynamic measures. Outpatient physical therapists have been called to routinely assess blood pressure in order to proactively address the hypertension epidemic in the United States. This course will review American Heart Association blood pressure guidelines, discuss how to respond to abnormal blood pressure values, and discuss the importance of monitoring and responding to blood pressure and heart rate measurements during or after exercise.

With an estimated 50 million people in the US dealing with chronic pain, many of the patients you work with are looking for tools they can use to get back to the life they love.

If you like straightforward explanations, illustrated teachings, and detailed case studies, then you’ll enjoy this training session on how to help patients (and yourself) approach chronic pain and difficulty with flexibility.

The course will provide an easy-to-understand overview Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), using creative illustrations to convey complex topics. Specific examples of individuals who struggle with chronic pain will be used throughout the presentation to provide real life examples of the pain neuroscience and the strategies of pain management. Walk away with clear, actionable steps that you or your patients can begin using immediately to help manage pain more effectively and start to get back to normal life.

Performing Arts Physical Therapy is a combination of Occupational Health, Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy and Acute Injury Management. This course will present an overview of each performing arts discipline for the physical therapy student through professional. A barrier for most allied health professionals in treating this patient population is being able to speak their language and real-life examples of their movement patterns and positional demands will be explained in physical therapy terminology and context. Furthermore, the performing arts patient is a body-aware athlete, who requires understanding of how their body works and knowledge of how the different parts of their body work together to optimize their movement. This course will give a brief overview of the musculoskeletal anatomy and its association to movement, common performing arts injuries linked to specific anatomy, with interaction of physiological systems, which will facilitate understanding for the patient and physical therapist and enhance communication and therapy progressions. Injury risk screening will also be discussed to assess understanding of this material and its application to the individual performer. Treatment techniques, progressions, and modalities will assist the physical therapist in creating and implementing plans of care for this patient population, which can also apply to other sports and general orthopedic patients.

Regardless of your setting or primary practice area, patients with one or more cardiac or pulmonary impairments are likely to be on your schedule.  These patients require close monitoring and unique considerations.  This presentation is aimed for new and experienced clinicians that are interested in a concise discussion that will assist them in navigating the essential components of evaluation and treatment for their patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease, post-COVID-19, pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and coronary artery disease.  This course will present best practices applicable across outpatient, home health, rehabilitation and acute care settings.  At the conclusion, there will be a case study where attendees will have the opportunity to discuss and apply their knowledge for a patient with cardiopulmonary disease across these settings.

Pelvic pain is a very common healthcare issue, yet it can be a challenge to find effective diagnosis and treatment. Approximately 1 in 7 women suffer from pelvic pain, and 1 in 10 men.  This course will discuss pelvic pain in a context applicable to any setting, regardless of experience with treating pelvic pain, including common diagnoses, potential impact of pelvic pain on other pain conditions, and treatment approaches any physical therapist could utilize.

An overview of common and not-so common Neurological diagnoses and the impact this can have on orthopedic issues. This course is appropriate for both neuro and orthopedic clinicians and it will be a synthesis of diagnoses that may be seen in both clinics for very different reasons. The aim of this course is to provide a comprehensive way to treat the whole patient, with emphasis on how the neurological diagnosis may change the way you have to think about treatment. Additionally, the neurologic PT will gain framework for assessment and treatment of orthopedic concerns in their neurologic patients. Collaboration between physical therapy specialists will be addressed, as well as a multidisciplinary model of care. Neurological diagnoses that will be included are: Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke and a summary of "other" neurological diagnosis for example Charcot Marie Tooth. The learner will leave the course feeling comfortable with the ability to perform assessment of both the neurologic and orthopedic complaints your patient brings to their evaluation.