Course Suggestions

[NateM]

Hey all,

I'm looking for some input from the group. I posted this in my intro, but perhaps it's best posted here as a new thread.

I'm a relatively new PT (~2 years) interested in manual therapy. I'm considering many possible courses in the near future (Simple Contact among them, Barrett, if all works out well). With costs for the course, travel, lodging...etc. so high, I'm trying to be very selective about what I take.

So my question is this: If you could start from the beginning again, knowing what you do now, what courses would you recommend and why?

Thanks for any input!

[Luke Rickards]

Hi Nate,

My manual therapy training started in first year, so I've only done a handful of MT courses since graduating. If you're interested in neurodynamics then Shacklock's courses through Neurodynamic Solutions are very good, and if you want to know more about pain science and patient education (still within a MT context) then the NOI Group courses are also excellent, especially when Butler himself is teaching. Neither of these groups will attempt to fill your head with nonsense.

The only other course I've done was Barrett's. Highly recommended.

[Bas]

Nate, I have to say: take few courses but read a lot - a LOT. I have taken a slew of courses in 25 years, but lately they are limited to pain related issues. Neil Pearson gave two one hour presentations in a teleconference in Canada that were worth more than all the ortho manual stuff, cranio-sacral, MET, etc etc courses that I have taken, and paid dearly for....
Anytime you touch a patient, do it softly and gently - it'll enhance the sensitivity of your perceptions and the effects on your patients. Check out Diane's threads on "skin" and her DNM approach.
Learn about neuro, brain, movement, cognition. Techniques and assessment models (the main stays of most PT courses) are LESS important than understanding the complaint of a patient on a deeper level. That only comes with a deeper appreciation of the above.

One problem is: you won't get all the "cool" letters and designations behind your name.....

[Mary C]

Despite the ill favour with which he is regarded here, I still say that Philippe Souchard's Réeducation Posturale Globale has had an immense influence on me. I took the course in 1984 and still use it, especially for chronic pain related to loss of flexibility. What I use the most is his way of seeing the whole body at a glance, and never neglecting the effect of moving any part on the rest of the whole. But I do not know of anywhere it is given in English.

Aside from that, Bas has the right idea. READ

Then ask, talk, question, and try stuff--with gentleness.

And Diane gives DNM courses, too. I'm learning to apply what's in her DNM manual and I find it works. You can download it here or email Diane for a digital copy.

I'm no :angel: but I'm sure enjoying the learning.

[Julie]

I agree with above posts re: reading, Butler, Shacklock, Dorko.... and would also mention this conference as one that looks really good (along with pre-conference workshop by Butler).

http://www.aaompt.org/displayconvention.cfm

[nari]

Nate,

It's probably rather different in Australia because we haven't the wide USA plethora of courses available to add to the confusion.
But, in hindsight, although I haven't done many courses, I gained a lot from reading, especially McKenzie (1990s). I have been to several neurorehab courses which were interesting.
But the only courses I have done which I considered valuable and unforgettable were Butler (1990 and 2003) and Dorko (2005).

Nari

[NateM]

Thanks for the input everyone.

Bas: "One problem is: you won't get all the "cool" letters and designations behind your name....."

Well, none of the patients get the "alphabet soup" stuff anyway. As Tim Flynn noted in the AAOMPT newsletter a few issues ago, it's best to call ourselves therapists first and foremost and forget the letters.

As I've been learning more on my own, I've been inclining toward more emphasis on the CNS and its role in pain management. Why do you suppose this is not given more attention in PT curricula? Lack of awareness, or do you think it's considered a more advanced topic and we need to cover the essentials, like hot pack application and draping (don't laugh...we spent a morning lab in school on this).

[Stuart]

Shacklock, Butler, Mulligan and McKenzie have been my favorites.

[oljoha]

All of the above and Active Release Techniques (www.activerelease.com).
Fairly expensive. I think it's worth it. If I was doing it over - I'd do this
while being a student (you get a big discount).

[Mary C]

Expensive is right! $995 US for a single day!!

(I had looked at the long nerve entrapment course in Kanata Ontario because that's relatively close for me.)

[Jason Silvernail]

I recommend Barrett's course for the neuroscience and for manual therapy like you'll never see it elsewhere. That would be a great course to take first to get perspective on neuroscience and pain physiology and the mechanisms of manual therapy. If I had taken his couse as close out of school as you are, I think I would have saved myself a lot of time and effort trying to learn things that are just irrelevant.

The Evidence in Motion group is teaching thrust manipulation and mobilization stripped of the mysticism like manual palpatory diagnosis - they do a good bit in lab as well and I recommend them highly.

[John W]

This group:
http://www.ispinstitute.com/
sponsors courses by NOI and does some of there own stuff, too. If you hurry, you can register to see Lorimar Moselely give a presentation in Kansas City on July 22. I attended their course on lumbar segmental stabilization by Louie Puentedura, which had a strong Australian/Queensland approach behind it. It included a segment on US imaging of the abdominal wall, which was interesting. It's a no-nonsense, evidence-informed, non-dogmatic approach to the topic.

[NateM]

Expensive is right! $995 US for a single day!!


That's one of the biggest hurdles for me...cost. With a growing family, mortgage, college loans, etc., I'm very limited in my selection. I'd love to be able to travel more, but when you add everything up (lodging, travel, course cost, food), it becomes prohibitive to me.

I did the PRRT Level 1 class and started getting emails for the intermediate...which is "only" $1500 and held in San Diego. Now I'm in NY. With flights costing what they do, it's just too much for me for a weekend course. They did the old "but what does it cost you NOT to go"-crap with me for a while. I had to literally spell it out for them: I can't afford that much money for a course right now.


The Evidence in Motion group is teaching thrust manipulation and mobilization stripped of the mysticism like manual palpatory diagnosis - they do a good bit in lab as well and I recommend them highly


I've been in contact with them and would like to take some of their courses. I looked into their Residency option, and was told that they are trying to get a Northeast location in the near future.

Thanks for the options everyone.

I have taken a class with Gregg Johnson's group, IPA, and thought they offered a rational method of treatment. Does anyone have any experience with them?

[Bas]

As I've been learning more on my own, I've been inclining toward more emphasis on the CNS and its role in pain management. Why do you suppose this is not given more attention in PT curricula? Lack of awareness, or do you think it's considered a more advanced topic and we need to cover the essentials, like hot pack application and draping (don't laugh...we spent a morning lab in school on this).

Nate, academic institutions are very much subject to tradition in all their functions, and none more than PT-professors (terrible generalisation, I know); and traditionally, PT-professors have been grown from a crop of a modality and/or pathoanatomy oriented profession. It IS changing - Prof Dave Walton (PT) at University of Western Ontario (London) is teaching a comprehensive pain science course - but it is sloooow.

[Barrett Dorko]

Well, purely in terms of inexpensive, my one day course (everything I know in 6 hours) from Summit Professional Education is a maximum of $199.00. This lowers markedly with early registration and bringing others along.

[Diane]

Mine is sporadic, but will be free. :D
October 18, one day. Vancouver.

[Mary C]

:clap2:Love the competition for our attention!:clap2:

[NateM]

Well, purely in terms of inexpensive, my one day course (everything I know in 6 hours) from Summit Professional Education is a maximum of $199.00. This lowers markedly with early registration and bringing others along.


That's a great price for the information offered...I just need to convince them to have you come up this way! I'm not trying to sound cheap, but my wife is the other person in the household that makes these decisions with me, so I have to have good evidence for her as well.

My employer sometimes helps, but it's sporadic and seems to be at the whim of the day whether to assist me or not...doesn't matter how much supporting material I give with the request.

Mine is sporadic, but will be free. :D
October 18, one day. Vancouver.

I'd love to take a trip out to Vancouver/Seattle area...maybe someday soon.

[Erica]

Hi Nate,
I have taken a fair amount of the IPA courses and have found them useful-I started out with them. By far the best courses I have taken have been Barrett's course and the NOI "Explain Pain" course. I took both courses here in NY (not sure what part of the state you are in). Well, worth it... I have taken all the Maitland courses from beg to end and they are also very good. They do offer alot in New York. Check their website: www.ozpt.com

We have had Evidence in Motion at our facility here in New York twice. Not sure what are plans are in the future-but check their website.

Good luck! :)
Erica

[NateM]

By far the best courses I have taken have been Barrett's course and the NOI "Explain Pain" course. I took both courses here in NY (not sure what part of the state you are in).


I'm just outside Albany. Nicely located...equi-distant from NY or Boston.

I have taken all the Maitland courses from beg to end and they are also very good. They do offer alot in New York. Check their website: www.ozpt.com (http://www.ozpt.com/)

Thanks for the link. Ms. CarolJo Tichenor with the Kaiser group in California also recommended them to me. She said that they offer a sound, systematic evaluation process. They do have a lot in this region.

By far the best courses I have taken have been Barrett's course and the NOI "Explain Pain" course.

I really need to convince the people at Cross Country Seminars that Barrett should come up this way. Anyone else on this board in the Northeast that would be willing to petition for this?

We have had Evidence in Motion at our facility here in New York twice.

Are you down in Hawthorne, Erica? I lived in Carmel for several years and worked in Armonk. I wanted to take the EIM course there last fall, but it conflicted with a course I was already committed to.

Thank you for your input.

[Barrett Dorko]

Nate,

No, not Cross Country. Contact Summit Professional Education customerservice@summit-education.com

Or call 800-433-9570

The man connected to promotion and planning is Randy Tatel.

[NateM]

Ooops..sorry Barrett. I had a mental blip.

I contacted Randy last week. He said he would put it up for consideration. How much of a pest can I be toward him (haha)?

[Erica]

Hi Nate,
I am actually in New York City. We hosted 2 EIM courses, I think they were both last year. The Cervical and then the Lumbar course. Those are the 2 best ones to get started with.
Erica

[Barrett Dorko]

I've a stake here of course, but I think everybody interested in what's written here on Soma Simple should call. My course is the gateway to much more than can presented in this form.

Lately I've added more material that is only fleshed out online and I remain convinced that this combined with brief and inexpensive personal contact with the moderators here is the most efficient way to understand the clinical application of modern neuroscience.

[NateM]

I've a stake here of course, but I think everybody interested in what's written here on Soma Simple should call. My course is the gateway to much more than can presented in this form.


So let's offer a request: If anyone else on this board would like to see a Simple Contact seminar in the Northeast, please contact:
Contact Summit Professional Education customerservice@summit-education.com (customerservice@summit-education.com)

Or call 800-433-9570

I can't believe we couldn't get some others to call or email Randy.

[NateM]

Here was the reply I received from Randy:


Thanks Nate. The actual title that we are using to market the seminar is Comprehensive Treatment Strategies for Managing and Reducing Acute and Chronic Pain (or the short title of Managing and Reducing Acute and Chronic Pain) although the content has not changed. This may help people contact more readily with the course through our web site as well as through search engines.

I’m looking for electronic marketing opportunities like this.


If anyone has other discussion boards or places where they think there might be some interest, particularly in the Northeast/New England region (obviously some bias here on my part), please feel free to pass along the contact info or have them contact Randy.

[NateM]

I should have mentioned that I told him we were promoting Barrett's seminar on this discussion board.