Professional Education Courses
A One-Day Review of Coexisting Processes with Implications for Management
This introductory program features an overview of the processes and principles that contribute to pediatric orthopedic development. These principles are applied to pathomechanics commonly observed in children with hypotonia, cerebral palsy, excessive foot pronation, and intoed gait. The content presented in this program is considered fundamental to any (future) discussion of the specific features of orthopedic trunk and lower extremity development.
Lab participants will execute 14 musculoskeletal assessments on each other under supervision. These participants will complete the program by participating in a live case presentation in which they will be asked at random to execute an assessment procedure.
Prerequisites: This lab program is open only to clinicians who have completed the one-day seminar program entitled: Developmental Orthopedics of the Trunk & Lower-Extremity.
Enrollment is limited to 18 participants. After 18 are registered, additional interested attendees may place themselves on a wait list. Enrollment status is determined on a first-come, first-served basis.
A One-Day Review of Sciences & Strategies for Optimizing AFO’s
The landscape of considerations of ankle function in balance and gait, and of strategies for managing ankle plantarflexion contracture – i.e., equinus deformity – is changing to embrace the roles of the somatosensory system and postural control both as causative factors and intervention strategies.
Instructor Beverly Cusick, PT, MS, COF, C/NDT reviews the relevance of ankle function in postural control, and discusses the physiology of muscle transformation and the role of spasticity in contracture formation. The content features challenges to the rationale and effectiveness of common equinus deformity intervention paradigms including stretching, blocking ankle plantarflexion at 0° with orthoses, injecting the gastrocnemius muscle with toxin, and surgically lengthening any aspect of the triceps surae muscle-tendon unit.
The course presents new orthotic and training strategies, based upon the work of Shirley Sahrmann, Mary Weck, and Elaine Owen, with emphasis on children with pyramidal-types of cerebral palsy.
Part 1: Seminar
This two-day seminar covers the following topics:
- Foot and ankle anatomy, biomechanics, development, and pathomechanics in relation to body weight orientation over the base of support and to designing orthotic modifications to optimize foot development and function.
- Characteristics of and factors contributing to healthy foot development.
- Elements of gait development that relate to and support foot development.
- The kinesiology and pathokinesiology related to – and in support of – the safe and effective use of below-knee casts and orthotic interventions designed to improve postural alignment and control and to reduce developmental, flexible foot and ankle deformities that commonly occur in the presence of central nervous system dysfunction, hypotonia, and ligament laxity in childhood. Discussion of orthotic options includes Elaine Owen’s Tuned AFO/Footwear Combinations, heel lifting and weight-line training, and orthotic posting and foot packaging principles and strategies.
Part 2: Labs
The two-day Lab segment features closely-supervised trials of several ankle and foot assessment procedures, with findings applied to orthotic posting and design. Assessment tools and materials will be provided fo undertaking posting trials to preview effects of proposed orthotic modifications.
Learn more…
Tools to give your clients life-changing developments… gains in muscle strength, flexibility, and balance… topped off with a reality-based understanding of what spasticity is – and what spasticity isn’t…
That’s the potential payoff of this essential learning opportunity!
Beverly Cusick and her colleague Susan Hastings (PT, DPT, PCS) have joined forces in a unique, two-day teaching collaboration: Sparking Change in the Treatment of Children with Diplegic Cerebral Palsy.
A 5-Day Program in 2 Parts
Join us for this practice-changing course in which common developmental foot deformities are identified and described in terms of plane-based anatomical components.
Musculoskeletal assessment procedures are reviewed as the findings lead the clinician to a systematic clinical decision-making process regarding orthotic design in terms of desired load-bearing foot and limb joint alignment, magnitude of segment enclosure, degrees of freedom provided or restrained, and posting options. Soft-tissue extensibility findings are also used in the documentation of the effects of assorted orthotic intervention strategies.
Part 1: Course Description • Program Schedule
Part 2: Course Description, Objectives & Schedule
Who Should Attend. This course is designed for the practitioner who has experience in working with children or adults with CNS neuromotor dysfunction, including physical therapists, orthotists, pediatric orthopedists, and physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians.
Part 2: Hands-On Labs. Labs feature closely-supervised trials of several ankle and foot assessment procedures, with findings applied to orthotic posting and design. Materials will be provided for 1.5 days of training in fabrication of two types of below-knee casts, and for undertaking posting trials to preview effects of proposed orthotic modifications.
April 16-21, 2018 [Sold Out]
August 13-18, 2018 [Sold Out]
October 22-27, 2018 [ONE seat left!]
A 5-Day ‘Master Class’ Tutorial
Limited to Six Participants!
Offered in beautiful Telluride, Colorado
Join us for this practice-changing tutorial in a collegial, small-group setting!
This course is about understanding the developing and mature foot as a foundation for applying the sciences of biomechanics, kinesiology, muscle pathophysiology, and postural control acquisition to the use of orthoses and casts for pediatric foot deformity management.
While the emphasis is on equinus deformity management, the content is designed to foster a practical knowledge of foot function, pathomechanics, and related strategies for optimizing orthoses.
Participants will bring this understanding of foot alignment and function to lab sessions in which they will acquire novice-level skills in the use of various casting materials and in the fabrication of three types of below-knee cast.
Hands-On Labs. Labs feature closely-supervised trials of several ankle and foot assessment procedures, with findings applied to orthotic posting and design. Materials will be provided for 1.5 days of training in fabrication of two types of below-knee casts, and for undertaking posting trials to preview effects of proposed orthotic modifications.
Who Should Attend. This course is designed for the practitioner who has experience in working with children or adults with CNS neuromotor dysfunction, including physical therapists, orthotists, pediatric orthopedists, and physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians.
Teams of two or more clinicians are highly encouraged to attend.
A Certified TheraTogs™ Fitter (CTF) Level I Course with Supporting Sciences & Strapping Strategies
This introductory program features a review of relevant pediatric orthopedic issues and sciences pursuant to neuromotor re-education for posture and torso alignment, including:
- Skeletal modeling mechanisms and influences
- The role of the somatosensory system in postural control acquisition and movement
- Fundamentals of S.A. Sahrmann’s muscle balance theory
- Practice-related skills acquisition
Attendees will validate their understanding of these principles and issues in the afternoon lab session, using the TheraTogs Posture & Torso Alignment system. Grouped in teams of three, attendees will be guided through a series of donning and strapping applications that demonstrate the biomechanical principles and management techniques reviewed in the morning session.
Attendees who successfully complete the on-site practicum exam will receive a Certified TheraTogs Fitter (CTF) Level I credential, and are qualified to attend the Level II workshop on the following day.
A Certified TheraTogs™ Fitter (CTF) Level II Course with Supporting Sciences & Strapping Strategies
This program builds upon the foundation laid in the Posture & Torso Alignment (CTF Level I) workshop. It features a brief review of pediatric orthopedic lower-extremity (LE) skeletal and joint development as it occurs in the transverse plane – i.e. medial and lateral joint rotation and medial and lateral long bone torsion – and in relation to deviations in foot progression angle (FPA) – i.e. intoeing and out-toeing. Lecture content includes these topics:
- Transverse-plane (TP) LE skeletal and joint modeling events with rotation strapping precautions
- A review of elements of postural control acquisition and maintenance that pertain to TP LE bone and joint development and alignment
- An implementation of SA Sahrmann’s muscle balance theory in the context of the kinesiology of LE rotation strapping applications
- A review of three musculoskeletal assessment procedures used to identify sources of deviations in FPA and to document changes in a replicable manner.
In the afternoon lab sessions, attendees form teams of three to:
- Learn learn, practice, and demonstrate three LE musculoskeletal assessments that pertain to TP alignment and gait problems: hip rotation ROM in hip extension, modified Ryder’s test, and the modified thigh-foot angle.
Demonstrate the biomechanical principles and management techniques reviewed in the morning session via use of the TheraTogs Lower Extremity system.
Attendees who successfully complete both on-site practicum exams will receive a Certified TheraTogs Fitter (CTF) Level II credential. Attendees also receive a complimentary copy of Beverly Cusick’s DVD Legs & Feet: A Review of Musculoskeletal Assessments.
The course Instructor describes the ideal sequence of neuromotor acquisition and resting postures, and documents the relationship of faulty trunk control to limb muscle contracture in children with diplegic CP. She discusses sensory, biomechanical, kinesiological, and neuromotor aspects of both normal and compromised development of trunk alignment and control. She/he describes the influence of postural alignment and control on movement acquisition and skills, and offers suggestions for science-based orthotic intervention.
Finally, the Instructor introduces the new code-verified TherAlign Dragonfly™ TLSO System as an example of a modality that can effectively address postural management issues.
Thank you for your interest in these programs. We are confident that your clinical practice will benefit markedly from the principles, techniques, and assessment and management skills that our courses add to your existing repertoire of clinical expertise.
Our current instructors:
Beverly Cusick, PT, MS, NDT, COF
Deborah Stack, PT DPT PCS
Susan Hastings, PT DPT PCS
“An amazing 3 days with Billi! She has the ability to take difficult concepts and break them down into ways that you understand and can use in practice. Her incredible knowledge of how the body moves and what it needs to work properly is impressive. I encourage anybody who wants to become a better clinician take a course with Billi Cusick!” -Linda H. Fuller, PT, PCS, Pediatric Physical & Occupational Therapy of Hudson Valley, PLLC
