In the manual therapy video below, NAIOMT Faculty Member Terry Pratt, MS, PT, COMT, FAAOMPT discusses some common clamshell exercise errors and how to help your patient adjust them. 

Topics: Lumbopelvic Spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, manual therapy, terry pratt, Manual Therapy Videos, videos, treating lumbar spine

Do you see patients with SI joint pain? In the video below, NAIOMT faculty member, Stacy Soappman, discusses her approach to testing and treating a 27-year-old male who came into the clinic with SI Joint pain.

 

The lumbar scan was done to rule out neurological involvement and serious pathology. As part of her lumbar exam she did a biomechanical exam including joint and muscular assessment. What she found was the patient had a lot of muscular imbalance between sides. 

 

Since he experienced stability problems of the SI joint, she choose stability work that involved stance activities, as the SIJ is designed to be more stable in a loaded position. For example, she had him stand on the wobble board and balance, do squats on the flat side of the BOSU, and single leg activities while moving the non WBing leg. To wean him off the SI belt she had him start by doing short duration activity without it and gradually increased the time each day he was out of the belt. 

 

Topics: lumbopelvic spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, NAIOMT, treating lumbar spine

Low back pain continues to be one of the most difficult maladies of the musculoskeletal system in the modern world. The scientific literature tells us LBP is a heterogeneous entity best treated by recognizing the characteristics of this group as subsets. One of these subsets are people who have pain specifically located at or close to the posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS). This location is also known as “pelvic girdle pain” or “sacroiliac joint pain.”

Topics: Lumbopelvic Spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, manual therapy, treating lumbar spine

In the manual therapy video below, NAIOMT’s Stacy Soappman provides a brief review of Sacroiliac Joint assessment and treatment. 

In order to determine if gapping manip of the SI Joint is appropriate for a patient, she performs a standing weight bearing assessment. If the tests are symmetrical and patient presents with the same dysfunction both in standing and in non weight bearing tests, she moves forward with the manipulation. If there's a discrepancy between the two components of the test, she does not use manipulation, but instead employs another approach such as soft tissue, exercise or needling to help with the neuromuscular balance component.

Topics: lumbopelvic spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, manual therapy, manual therapy certification, treating lumbar spine

Ever run into challenges performing a lumbar gapping manipulation on a patient larger than yourself? In the video below, NAIOMT faculty member Stacy Soappman demonstrates ways to improve effectiveness--as well as safety for yourself--despite the size of your patient. Get more tips and guidance from Stacy directly in her upcoming Manip Like a  Girl: Work Smarter Not Harder course (not just for women!) in Seattle, WA on October 20, 2019.

Topics: lumbopelvic spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, NAIOMT, treating lumbar spine

Ever get to a point while treating a patient, where it feels like maybe you've exhausted all the tools in your tool box? Every PT has been there. We may see some promising results, but eventually end up back where we started. Yes, it's frustrating. But it's also an opportunity for our clinical reasoning to really kick in. And if you've put the time into developing those skills, they will guide you forward when you--and your patients--need them most.

In the video below, NAIOMT faculty member, Stacy Soappman, discusses a patient case of low back pain, where she ultimately decided to combine treatment--working the mutifidus with the quadratus lumborum simultaneously--to get her patient feeling better.

Topics: lumbopelvic spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, NAIOMT, treating lumbar spine

In the manual therapy video below, distinguished faculty member, Ann Porter Hoke, demonstrates locking of the lumbar spine from above, and how to obtain side-bending to the left and to the right. This is a portion of a larger video demonstrating both locking from above and below, and are components of NAIOMT's Lumbopelvic Spine level II Coursework.

Topics: lumbopelvic spine courses, manual therapy, Manual Therapy Videos, treating lumbar spine

In the manual therapy video below, NAIOMT's faculty instructor Steve Allen addresses clinical presentation of traumatic arthritis in the lumbopelvic spine.

Topics: Lumbopelvic Spine, lumbopelvic spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, Manual Therapy, Manual Therapy Videos

NAIOMT Faculty, Stacy Soappman, PT, DSc, COMT, FAAOMPT

Topics: lumbopelvic spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, Clinical Reasoning, Uncategorized

Topics: Lumbopelvic Spine, lumbopelvic spine, lumbopelvic spine courses, manual therapy, Manual Therapy, clinical skills, neurological pathology, orthopedic dysfunction