Lifelong Learning

The body is always changing, our knowledge base of the body is always changing as well. There is always more to learn, and I knew this going in... Continuing education is an integral part of becoming the best therapist you can be and I am trying as much as I can in this regard.

At the end of August I took the Kevin Wilk (http://kevinwilk.com/) Recent Advances in the Evaluation and Treatment of the Knee & Shoulder. I just could not get enough of this man and took a course that he was co-teaching along with Brian Mulligan (http://www.bmulligan.com/). Both courses were very useful and have given me plenty to consider adding to my "PT tool belt" - some of the things I have already utilized with great success. One of the best things about Kevin Wilk is his emphasis on research and through his course I have begun collecting the "gold standard" articles on many of the topics he has brought up.

This past week I also went to a great district course put on by the Greater New York district of the NYPTA. Dr. Jordan Metzl (http://drjordanmetzl.com/ - are you noticing a trend of website naming?) presented on hip injuries in the adolescent athlete to a room packed with mostly students along with a few practicing clinicians. This event was free to APTA members as are all district meetings. The main take away message from his talk was to not treat adolescent injuries just like an adult injury with similar presentation. So that hamstring strain may not be something the kid should have to play through whereas an adult might be able to, mostly because of those open growth plates that kids tend to have. A very important point that Dr. Metzl drove home in a very clear, concise and entertaining manner. Go to his website to see some very useful evaluation videos.

Now I move forward to the next two weekends where my clinic will be hosting a Stanley Paris based course called S1 (Spine part 1). 5 days (35 hours) worth of the spine should be thorough... but apparently not enough as there are 4 separate parts just for the spine(not all 5 days). Ultimately you can take all the courses (4 spine, 2 extremity and two more) and receive a manual therapy certification: see this .pdf file.



Did I mention I also presented on the ACL to the Brooklyn/Staten Island district of the NYPTA. The above picture is from that, and it was fun I must say.

Learn on!