Movement impairments often predispose sports and orthopaedic patients to musculoskeletal injuries. These situations often become chronic because many movement impairments are unable to be examined without the use of special technology. Understanding how to utilize data collected from such technology and relate it to clinical biomechanics and pathomechanics in the lower extremity is imperative for the clinical reasoning process. This is needed to develop patient-specific interventions aimed at correcting dysfunctional movement patterns.
This long-term course taught by world renown gait expert Chris Powers at the Movement Performance Institute assists physiotherapists in learning a thorough evaluation of movement dysfunction which is critical for the development of successful treatment strategies. This evidence-based course series focused on the diagnosis of movement-related impairments and emphasized the examination of walking, running, cycling and common sport movements using technology not commonly found in a typical clinic.
The technology that assists in clarifying movement impairments include
EMG biofeedback: for assessing and facilitating motor unit recruitment
High-speed motion capture: for arthrokinematic analysis and motor control training
Force plates: for ground reaction force observation and manipulation of shock attenuation
Dynamometry: for muscle strength testing to determine a percent loss from norms or improvements:
Pressure plates embedded in a treadmill: for foot pressure analysis and spatio-temporal characteristics
Understanding how to assimilate the data generated from this technology with a patient’s history and physical examination advances the physiotherapists knowledge in the area of clinical biomechanics and improves their ability to systematically identify movement impairments that underlie various lower extremity diagnoses. This in turn develops targeted interventions to optimize biomechanical function and performance.
Stay tuned to this space as Sports & Orthopaedic Physiotherapy is looking forward to continue to implement this technology in the near future to assist the athletes and orthopaedic patients of Napa Valley.
For more information on The Movement Performance Institute, Chris Powers, or the courses offered please visit http://movementpi.com
