Orthopedic Assessment

Course overview

Learn classic assessment techniques for the neck, shoulder, elbow, ankle, knee, hip, spine and more. This course introduces massage techniques for orthopedic conditions, promoting the alignment of soft tissue relating to pain and dysfunction. For clinical massage therapy, the course text contains brief descriptions of rationale behind orthopedic massage, mechanisms of injury to and repair of soft tissue, and anatomy of each body area. The accompanying Upper Body and Lower Body course DVDs also provide 3-D animations to show exactly which structures are involved. Each section of the DVDs are divided into Subjective Assessment, Observation, Tests, Special Tests and Palpation, including: * range-of-motion. * active range-of-motion. * strength tests. * nerve conduction tests. * impingement tests for the rotator cuff. * spinal facet joint assessment. * knee meniscus assessment. * ligament tests, and more. You'll learn specific orthopedic conditions of the human body and discover how various massage therapy techniques can help ease pain and dysfunction of soft tissue. Specific pathologies regarding mobility, posture, injuries and diseases are included as examples of what can be addressed by massage therapists and which conditions are seen as contraindications. Several methods which help to promote proper alignment of soft tissue including wave mobilization, muscle energy technique and joint mobilization are defined, explained and demonstrated in the course materials. The Orthopedic Assessment program will walk you through a logical progression of testing that will reveal the underlying pathology with crystal clarity. The techniques and assessment provided in this program are meant to be practiced by licensed healthcare practitioners. Check your local laws to find out if performing these tests is within your scope of practice.