Management of the Patient with Musculoskeletal Dysfunction 1. 5 Credit Hours

Catalog description

Students in this course integrate previously learned skills and knowledge and apply new skills in the examination, evaluation, and intervention of patients across the lifespan with musculoskeletal conditions of the upper quarter, which will include the cervical and thoracic spine and the upper extremity. The course reviews musculoskeletal tissues, the effects of systematic disease on musculoskeletal tissues, the physical therapy exam, and the principles of evidence-based practice. The course then follows a regional approach with attention to the examination and intervention of the cervical/thoracic spine and each joint area in the upper extremity. Students are expected to be knowledgeable and proficient in material from the first-year courses in the areas of patient care skills, anatomy, kinesiology, and therapeutic exercise. The course emphasizes 1) using the best available evidence to examine and treat patients with musculoskeletal complaints in the extremities, 2) critically analyzing the patient's history and tests and measures to formulate a physical therapy diagnosis and determine the need for further referral, 3) recognizing non-musculoskeletal causes of extremity pain and identifying patients needing further diagnostic studies and referral to a specialty physician, and 4) the interdisciplinary approach to patient management through guest speakers from different medical specialties.