Approved for 8 CEUs for Massage Therapists and Chiropractors. This class will be held in-person at The Institute.

This course is NCBTMB approved under Matthew S. Gavzy, Approved Provider #1726. It is approved for NJ chiropractors through the NJ Board of Chiropractic Examiners; The Institute for Continuing Education is a Preapproved Provider/Sponsor. It is also approved by PACE for chiropractors in states that recognize PACE for continuing education.

Students should dress comfortably for class.

Course Description

What do you do when you have a patient that comes in for treatment after some orthopedic surgery because (s)he is really tight from being in a sling or knee brace?  You just want to help your patient.  The questions are: “Do you know exactly what the procedure was? How the doctor performed it? What, if any, are the precautions and contraindications for this particular procedure? How can I help without damaging the implants and prosthetics?  How do I speak to the referring Physical Therapist or Surgeon in a manner that shows I fully understand what I am doing?”

You must understand orthopedic pathologies and their post-surgical precautions. This course describes these pathologies in depth, how the surgeries are performed and what their post-surgical precautions are so you will be better able to treat your patients without doing harm to them or the prosthetics while instilling confidence in your patient and the referring Physical Therapist or Surgeon. You will learn to perform other protocols to help you measure and understand how your client is progressing. You will learn to perform goniometry, how to use a goniometer, landmark properly, and review joint ROM measurements. You will be educated on normal and abnormal end feels when assessing ROM and what that means in terms of possible tissue damage. You will learn about manual muscle testing and how to perform it properly, understand and apply grading scales and what that means for possible pathologies. You will be able to evaluate the above information and apply it to your patients, and how to communicate effectively with surgeons and physical therapists in “their own language”.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• Describe pathologies, surgeries, and employ precautions
• Perform goniometry
• Review normal joint ROM
• Perceive normal and abnormal End Feel
• Demonstrate Manual Muscle Testing
• Apply grading systems
• Evaluate the above information
• Communicate with MDs and PTs in their language to foster better understanding of how to help their patients

Class will include:

Introduction/Reason for Class/Class Objectives

Goniometry – Purpose, Review of Normal Joint ROM

End Feel – Review Normal and Abnormal End Feels

Goniometry and End Feel Lab

Manual Muscle Testing – General Instructions, Precautions to Performing MMT, Grading Systems

Manual Muscle Test Lab

Pathologies and Precautions

Arthrokinematics

Total Knee Replacement – Knee Anatomy, Knee Arthrokinematics, Massage Precautions

Total Hip Replacement – Hip Anatomy, Hip Arthrokinematics, Massage Precautions

Shoulder Anatomy – Shoulder Arthrokinematics

Rotator Cuff Surgery – Massage Precautions

Total Shoulder Replacement – Massage Precautions

Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement – Massage Precautions

Conversing with MDs and PTs

Questions and Discussions

About the Instructor: Matthew Gavzy, PTA, LMT, BCTMB has been a Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant for over 14 years and a Licensed, Board Certified Massage Therapist for over 24 years.  He has worked in outpatient physical therapy settings as well as sub-acute settings working rehabilitating all types of injuries from orthopedic issues such as rotator cuff tears, knee and hip replacements, and shoulder replacements as well as strokes, heart attacks and neurological issues. He has been a member of the AMTA’s National Event Sports Massage Team and provided massage at national and international events such as the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and Paralympics and the New York, Boston and Baltimore Marathons. He will show students everything he knows about what physical therapists do and how they can apply that same knowledge to their practices.