What to Read: December 2012

Blog Posts

The first blog post comes from Joseph Brence, DPT (Forward Thinking PT) and Francois Prizinski, DPT, OCS, COMT, DAC, FAAOMPT who made a portion of their lecture titled “Modern Manual Therapy: Painful Paradigms, Pain Science and Neurodynamics of the Upper Extremity” available. If you are unsure or unaware of the mounting evidence supporting a biopsychosocial approach and its implications to manual therapy, then this is definitely worth checking out!

Harrison Vaughn at In Touch Physical Therapy once again asks an important question, “What do you consider a successful treatment?” This is a great question and one that is not asked enough. Are you satisfied with providing a few exercises, some TENS, and maybe some moist heat? More importantly, is your patient satisfied? Also from In Touch Physical Therapy, a case (Part 1, Part 2) is presented that lays out the potential benefit of IASTM after a patient begins to plateau.

Mike Reinold, DPT, SCS, ATC, CSCS discusses “Working the Glutes in 3D”, which refers to considering a muscle’s function in all planes of motion and applying an appropriate intervention. Isolated movements are necessary, especially early in the rehabilitation process, but in order to make more substantial gains, progression to a more functional program is necessary.

Over at PT Think Tank, there have been two great posts recently. The first post was written by Paul Mitalski regarding the unique professional hierarchy utilized at his sports rehabilitation and performance enhancement facility. His philosophy is very much in line with where I believe the Sports Physical Therapist should be in the organizational food chain. Within this framework, the PT performs a supervisory role within the performance enhancement program in addition to his/her duties in the rehabilitation arena. This is an innovative program and will hopefully be the norm as more PTs choose to further their education/experience through residency and fellowship training. The second post was written by Kyle Ridgeway, PT, DPT regarding common misconceptions and myths regarding Acute Care Physical Therapy. This is a setting that does not get enough credit, which is something I learned first hand during my summer clinical rotation.

Finally, at Therapydia, there was a panel discussion regarding “The Future and Direction of Manual Physical Therapy”. The panel included Joseph Brence, DPT, John Ware, PT, MS, FAAOMPT, and Timothy Flynn, PT, PhD, OCS, FAAOMPT. This was a great discussion by some of the experts in the manual therapy community… If you haven’t watched this yet, watch it now!

Research

Fritz JM, et al. Primary Care Referral of Patients With Low Back Pain to Physical Therapy: Impact on Future Health Care Utilization and Costs. Spine. 2012;37(25): 2114–2121.

Muth S, et al. The Effects of Thoracic Spine Manipulation in Subjects With Signs of Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2012;42(12): 1005-1016.

Register B, et al. Prevalence of Abnormal Hip Findings in Asymptomatic Participants: A Prospective, Blinded Study. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2012;40(12): 2720-2724.

Salsich GB, et al. The Effects of Movement Pattern Modification on Lower Extremity Kinematics and Pain in Women With Patellofemoral Pain. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2012;42(12): 1017-1024.

Shultz SJ, et al. Associations Between Lower Extremity Muscle Mass and Multiplanar Knee Laxity and Stiffness: A Potential Explanation for Sex Differences in Frontal and Transverse Plane Knee Laxity. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2012;40(12): 2836-2844.

Villafaine JH, et al. Effects of Passive Upper Extremity Joint Mobilization on Pain Sensitivity and Function in Participants With Secondary Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis: A Case Series. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2012;35(9): 735-742.

Wouters I, et al. Effects of a movement training program on hip and knee joint frontal plane running mechanics. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2012; 7(6): 637-642.