Here is a fantastic new opportunity to stimulate your clinical practice and enhance your career. Manual Concepts and Curtin University are offering a new partnership in post-graduate clinical education leading to higher education qualifications. Participants completing the 4-week Certificate in Orthopaedic Manual Therapy programme provided by Manual Concepts now have the opportunity to undertake distance-learning units through the School of Physiotherapy, which then accelerates completion of the Masters in Clinical Physiotherapy (Manipulative Therapy or Sports Physiotherapy stream). These qualifications lead to level 2 titled membership of either the MPA or Sports specialist interest group. This exciting new opportunity could be your stepping stone to an even higher professional status beyond level 2 entitlement, through to membership of the Australian College of Physiotherapists as a Clinical Specialist. For more details about further opportunities after competing the 4-week programme please download more information by clicking
here. Alternatively you can visit Curtin Universities website for more
details.
This comprehensive four-week programme provides clinicians with intensive tuition in an integrated approach to orthopaedic manual therapy of the spine, sacroiliac joints, hip, knee and shoulder girdle complex. Due to popular demand the programme is scheduled three times each year in Perth, commencing January, June and November and once each year in Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal in collaboration with Formaterapia (see picture right, click
here for more details).
The primary aim of the programme is to integrate joint, muscle and neural tissue based manual therapy concepts to provide a more functional and comprehensive approach to the management of a range of neuromusculoskeletal conditions. This clinical programme is closely complemented by tutorials in clinical and functional anatomy and pain physiology. For specific dates regarding course commencement please see the section titled programme dates.
This is a unique opportunity to be educated and closely supervised by our internationally respected team of clinical educators led by Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists Kim Robinson and Toby Hall. Previous contributors have included experts in the field of manual therapy such as Jenny McConnell, Dr Peter O'Sullivan, Max Zusman, osteopath Michael Monaghan, Mark Oliver, Dr Steve Edmondston, Dr Michelle Sterling, Dr Ben Wand and Dr Diana Hopper.
The syllabus places particular emphasis on the spinal regions and related spinal pain disorders with relevant consideration of the shoulder girdle complex, hip, knee and pelvis/sacroiliac joints. This syllabus integrates a range of manual therapy concepts developed by many different manual therapists.
Kim Robinson and Toby Hall are the coordinators and course developers. Recently awarded Fellowship of the Australian College of Physiotherapists, they have 50 years clinical experience and have taught manual therapy for more than 15 years at a postgraduate university level. In addition for the last 15 years they have been teaching short manual therapy courses to physiotherapists around the world. Toby and Kim are the principal educators for the programme and guide participants through the comprehensive course content.
Participants are provided with extensive pre-course reading material and handouts to cover all aspects of the programme. Varied teaching formats, including slides, video and practical demonstration facilitate the learning and clinical reasoning processes. Patients, where possible, will be presented to the group to illustrate the clinical application of the approach.
Evidence based practice is a strong theme of the course. Participants are guided through a logical and clinically reasoned approach to the evaluation of the patients presenting condition. Participants are taught skills and techniques that enhance efficient and effective physical examination of a wide range of clinical presentations.
Toby Hall and Bob Elvey have worked closely together for many years and have developed some of the most important and recent advances in manual therapy. Toby instructs participants in the pathogenesis, assessment and management of neural tissue pain disorders. Classification of spinal pain disorders is an important aspect of this course. The syllabus will encompass evidence based examination procedures required to determine various types of sub-classifications of pain disorders. For example neural pain disorders are classified according to three categories of sensory hypersensitivity, denervation, and peripheral nerve sensitization. This information is very important as it drives treatment choices and is important for identification of patients suitable for neural tissue mobilization techniques.
Professor Peter O'Sullivan, is a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapy and has completed his PhD in the area of muscle dysfunction and motor control. He has published a range of articles and book chapters in relation to lumbopelvic muscle dysfunction, motor control and active intervention for rehabilitation of lumbar instability and related conditions. He is one of the leading international figures in manual therapy in the area of classification of motor control impairments of low back pain. Peter has developed a functional and highly effective approach to the classification and management of specific sub-groups of low back pain disorders which involve motor control impairment. Peter demonstrates the clinical application of this new functional approach through a range of video case studies and patient demonstrations. In this way Peter simplifies the complex role of muscle dysfunction and motor control impairment in lumbopelvic pain syndromes.
In recent years there has been increasing importance placed on understanding the mechanism of acute and chronic pain and how manual therapy may influence pain. Max Zusman has published widely in manual therapy and medical literature and creates an enviroment for participants to more readily understand important issues related to pain pathophysiology and its management. To build on this information there are sessions devoted to pain management including cognitive behavioural retraining, goal setting, pacing and other pain management techniques.
The basis of manual therapy is a thorough knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics. This course is richly enhanced by the presentation and discussion of functional spinal anatomy, patho-anatomy and age related changes.
An additional perspective, brought by Michael Monaghan, whose Osteopathic skills in examination and treatment including manipulation, broaden the dimensions of the programme. A highly accomplished clinician, Michael is extremely adept at developing participant competence in this highly skilled area of manual therapy. He places particular emphasis in developing safety and comfort in manual treatment skills. Michael has been teaching manual therapy to physiotherapists in Australia and New Zealand for 30 years and has written "Spinal Manipulation" a textbook for physiotherapists as well as authoring a CDROM and videos.
Dr Michele Sterling is well known for her work in the area of motor control dysfunction in the cervical spine. She is a world recognized authority on whiplash disorders, chronic neck pain and cervicogenic dizziness. She has published widely on these subjects and brings this knowledge to expand participants understanding of cervical and scapula motor control impairment as well as whiplash and other cervical disorders and what can be done to correct them. Michele is based at the University of Queensland, and also the Centre for National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine (CONROD), where she is Associate Director and heads the research team currently undertaking a whole raft of research projects.
Professor Steve Edmondston is based at Curtin University where he heads up the Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy section. He has a great deal of knowledge and clinical expertise in the management of thoracic spine disorders. He completed his PhD in this field a number of years ago and has written a range of book chapters and journal articles in relation to thoracic and cervical spine manual therapy. He presents a refreshingly uncomplicated but very clinically effective approach to thoracic spine manual therapy.
Jenny McConnell has developed international respect with her innovative approach to assessment and treatment of a range of biomechanical disorders affecting the shoulder/neck complex, lumbar spine and lower limb. Her highly educational and practical sessions integrate well with the overall concept of the four-week program. Jenny covers assessment and rehabilitation of the shoulder girdle complex. Rehabilitation includes EMG biofeedback muscle reeducation, exercise, articular mobilization as well as taping for pain control.
Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is a significant contributing factor to low back pain, with up to 14% of low back pain disorders shown to have sacroiliac joint involvement. Mark Oliver is an accredited Mulligan Concept teacher who has developed a unique and thoroughly logical approach to demystifying the assessment and management of these complex joints. His approach can be readily integrated into the model of assessment presented during this programme. The astute clinician will be able to quickly determine the relative contribution of sacroiliac joint dysfunction to the patients presenting disorder and thereby determine an effective treatment strategy.
Participants completing the Manual Concepts 4-week Certificate in Orthopædic Manual Therapy programme will be awarded credits towards advanced standing in the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Physiotherapy (Manipulative Therapy) and Masters in Clinical Physiotherapy (Manipulative Therapy or Sports Physiotherapy stream) offered by Curtin University of Technology. Those who wish to, and who have appropriate qualifications, are then able to enroll in the School of Physiotherapy's 3 distance learning units, "Anatomy & Pathology 751", "Management of Pain Disorders 752" and "Evidence Based Practice 750". These units are completed over 2-3 semesters (12-18 months). Each distance learning unit will incur an additional cost payable directly to Curtin University. Upon successful completion of these units the participant will be awarded a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Physiotherapy (Manipulative Therapy). Further to completion of this course participants may be eligible to enroll in second semester (5 months) of the Masters in Clinical Physiotherapy (Manipulative Therapy or Sports Physiotherapy stream) to achieve this qualification. This would lead to level 2 membership of the MPA or Sports special interest groups of the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Those participants interested in gaining further information about the distance learning units or higher programmes should contact Postgraduate Course Enquiries at the School of Physiotherapy via email (
HlthSci-SS@exchange.curtin.edu.au).