Continuing Education to Elevate Function and Form
Course Offerings
1
Ambulation, Activity, and AFOs: An Integrated Approach for Foot and Ankle Intervention
15 contact hours
Would you like to increase your skill with orthotic recommendations? Are you interested in advanced treatment of the foot and ankle for patients with pediatric and neurologic diagnoses? This course presents a dynamic multi-pronged approach to addressing the ankle to enhance function. Using a kinesioplastic lens, participants examine the effect of repeated movements, sustained alignments, cumulative micro-trauma, and altered relative flexibility on the function of the foot and ankle. This course presents a comprehensive approach to care based on individual movement analysis, while examining the evidence for interventions which maximize the resiliency of the foot and ankle complex through skeletal maturation and into adulthood. Participants learn hands-on skills for an integrated approach including: joint and soft tissue mobilizations to promote efficient relative flexibility; improving stability through progressive strengthening of the “foot core”; and interventions to positively impact neuroplastic changes. Finally, participants will learn to actively use the ICF model to guide recommendations for foot and ankle orthoses to enhance function. This course can be offered online or in-person. This course is a recommended prerequisite for Therapeutic Casting for the Lower Extremity.
2
Therapeutic Casting for the Lower Extremity
22 contact hours
This course will provide the knowledge base and practical skills for use of casting materials to manage common impairments in pediatric and neurologic patient populations. Participants will learn to identify appropriate candidates for casting, problem solve which materials and techniques are appropriate for various clinical presentations, and evaluate progress. The course will emphasize the current evidence related to casting and foot/ankle intervention, the importance of differential diagnosis, and the use of the therapist’s manual intervention before and during casting to maximize therapeutic effects of casts. Attendees will learn to align casts for therapeutic gait and standing, and to problem-solve orthotic selection after casting is complete. This is a hands-on lab course, and participants receive a detailed casting manual as a reference tool. Recommended prerequisite: Ambulation, Activity, and AFOs
3
Therapeutic Casting and Splinting for the Upper Extremity
7.5 Contact Hours
This course will provide the practitioner with the knowledge base and practical skills for use of casting materials to manage common upper extremity impairments in patients with pediatric and neurologic diagnoses through therapeutic casts and splints. Participants will learn to identify appropriate candidates for casting, problem solve which materials and techniques are appropriate for various clinical presentations, and evaluate progress. The course will emphasize the importance of the use of the therapist’s manual intervention before and during casting to maximize therapeutic effects. Therapeutic (serial) casts, wrist-hand orthoses (WHOs), and splints for constraint-based therapies will be covered. The course includes multiple opportunities to learn and apply hands-on practical skills which can be carried over to the clinical setting after course completion.