Thoracic Spine Care for Athletic Populations
Course Overview
This course is designed to help participants learn advanced knowledge and clinical skills in the evaluation and treatment of sports-related injuries to the thoracic spine. Clinical examinations in this course use injury scripts or groupings of key features consistent with a specific condition to identify the pain generating tissue and potential cause. The treatment component uses manual and exercise interventions based on evidence and presented in a systematic fashion.
Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the learner should be able to:
- Recall common diagnoses of thoracic spine injuries sustained by athletes from epidemiological studies.
- Recall the pain generating structures of the thoracic spine region.
- Identify the “red flags” to be aware of with a clinical examination of the spine.
- Explain the biomechanical behavior of the thoracic spine region of the vertebral column.
- Recognize risk factors (i.e., sport movements) that could produce thoracic spine injuries.
- Describe groupings of key features (scripts) common with specific athletic thoracic spine injuries.
- Recognize special tests with strong diagnostic accuracy for common athletic thoracic spine injuries.
- Describe treatment strategies that demonstrate the greatest effectiveness for specific goals.
- Explain advanced training techniques for the thoracic spine region effective for optimal performance upon return to play.
- State the general return to play criteria for athletic thoracic spine injuries.
About the Author/Presenter
Dr. Jim Schilling was employed in the clinical setting for over 20 years, half of which was specialized in spine care, where he developed experience in manual and exercise therapy skills. He also has over 14 years in academia, teaching courses in musculoskeletal injury evaluation and treatment. His educational background is in athletic training, biomechanics, exercise physiology, and curriculum and instruction along with additional coursework in manual therapy. His scholarly activity has been in abdominal core training and its effect on performance along with its role in athletic movements. He has also conducted scholarly work in the areas of foot biomechanics, educational assessment instruments, and learning strategies.
Audience/Accreditations and Approvals
Colibri Healthcare
This course is designed for the following healthcare professions (select your profession for details):
Physical Therapy
If you require special accommodations, please contact Colibri Healthcare Support by clicking here: Contact Us
