On November 4, 2023, I was honored to present one of the main educational courses at the 2023 American Physical Therapy Association of Maryland and Washington DC annual conference at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. My 3-hour presentation was entitled, Manual Therapy Strategies to Treat Complex Patients. During the talk I discussed what I believe are the 3 primary pillars that manual therapists can use to improve the pain and functional abilities of this challenging population.
These 3 pillars include:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Understanding Physiology
- Layer Palpation
It is these concepts that allow me to see the totality of the problem, the aberrant physiology that is preventing the patient from healing, and specific location of where the dysfunctions and tissue restrictions are located. The audience of about 100 people was a diverse group that included physical therapists working in a variety of settings and had a wide range of experience from students to seasoned veterans. They asked a series of pertinent questions and seemed engaged throughout the entire session. Quite a few, including a handful of students, came to speak to me after the talk for further clarification.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the chance to educate a large group to physical therapists on how they might be better able to successfully treat patients with a complicated medical history. The conference afforded me the opportunity to meet other like-minded therapists and to learn from them. I look forward to the opportunity to speak again in the future.