NASMI and Advances in Clinical Education

admin — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:57:17 +0000

It is mid year and alot of things have happened with NASMI! We completed the Spring schedule and had lots of fun completing our programs. June brought us to Nashville for the Foundations Course and Testing.

In Foundations, everyone had a chance to see the nuts and bolts of sports physical therapy. The Emergency Responder course taught by Danny Smith and Colleen Barkley was outstanding and prepared the class for those frightening times when there is a life threatening injury during a sporting contest. Because Danny is the Master Instructor of ER, he is able to condense the course down for physical therapists so basic medical instruction is skipped. This makes the course move quickly and be much more rewarding. Everyone learned how to tape and fit various sports equipment also.

Four brave souls took the Certification this year. Actually, they all did well. All studied hard and were prepared for a tough written, oral, and practical examination. Of course NASMI’s portion of the exam is only half of the certification. The other half takes place in St. Augustine with the fantastic faculty of the University of St. Augustine.

Nashville this time of year is exciting. The CMA Musicfest is going on. Many students and faculty heard their top country performers while they were in town. NASMI is all about hard work and fun! Don’t forget to check out the Fall Schedule.

Home from CSM and Vegas

admin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:05:22 +0000

CSM was the best ever…@8400 attendees! I have to admit, my favorite day was Tuesday the 10…my birthday! We slipped out of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and played golf at Paiute GC…Windy, cold….but it was good golfing with my buddies! We did attend classes later in the day. That night, we saw the Elton John concert at The Coliseum at Caesars Palace….awesome show and great birthday.

The rest of the conference was not bad. There are some really great speakers coming up in the Section and it was good to hear them. I serve as VP of the JOSPT. We had a terrific members meeting and then Board meeting. JOSPT is one of the best Journals around. The Sports Section really looks after its members: Three journals….North America Sports Physical Therapy and Sport Health as well as JOSPT.

The Awards Ceremony was awesome. Two of our faculty won awards: Mike Voight as Educator of the Year and Danny Smith won the big one: The Ron Peyton Award. It was great to see Ron there…founder and first president of SPTS! NASMI is very proud of these two faculty members!

Next year: San Diego!

At CSM - Las Vegas

admin — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:35:05 +0000

CSM is in the Mandalay Bay Hotel…same one the TV show Vegas was modeled after. There are over 7000 PT/PTA’s registered…it’s a big meeting. It is only a few days but things are hopping! The Sports Section had several pre-conference programs going on: one on the shoulder, NASMI’s own Danny Smith instructed an Emergency Responder course, and Mike and I were involved with the TPI Level 1 and 2. I was just eye candy for the course but Mike taught 50% of Level 2. You may not know but our SFMA course has much of the Level 2 screening material. If you take our course, Level 2 classes will be a piece of cake! As usual, the TPI guys….Greg, Dave, Lance, Joe, Ruben, Jason and many of their other teammates were there. Great class fellows!

Of course Vegas does have night life….but probably not appropriate for this Blog. I would add: go to the Minus 5 Bar for a really cold drink!!

CSM: Las Vegas:

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:57:29 +0000

In February 2009 in Las Vegas, the American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting will meet. There are so many great educational and networking activities going on there that you can’t afford to miss it.

Beginning on Sunday February 8th, the Sports Section will have TPI instruct both Level 1 and 2 of the Golf Fitness Certification during its pre-conference programming. NASMI instructor Mike Voight will be teaching in Level 2.The regular meeting begins on Tuesday with the Opening Ceremony and Reception on Monday night where our new SPTS Certified members will be presented.

The Section will have its Gala Evening on Tuesday night which will be a huge fundraiser for the PT Foundation. I hope many of you can attend. We will have a silent auction as well. The Section Business meeting and Awards Ceremony are later in the week. Join if you are not a member of the Sports Section! It’s great to our NASMI Certified Sports Therapists there….I know of no NASMI STC who has failed to achieve the SPTS SCS on the first try!

I’m continually asked how one gets involved with the Section. This is the time and place to do it. Show up and volunteer for many of the onsite projects and meet everyone. They want your involvement! It’s not just a ‘good ole boy’ network!

Hope to see you in Vegas in February!

My TPI

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:54:52 +0000

I have thoroughly enjoyed my association with Dr Greg Rose and Dave Phillips, the co-founders and directors of the Titleist Performance Institute, as well as their excellent staff including Lance, Joe, Reuben, Dino, and Tyler to name a few. The Golf Fitness Instructor certification is an excellent way to become an expert in dealing with golfers even if you don’t play yourself…though it will make you want to take up the sport!

The data base that TPI has available to back up their philosophy on the golf swing and injury causes is phenomenal. They are great teachers and are very approachable.

I had the opportunity to visit TPI in Oceanside CA the first weekend in December. It was a fantastic experience and their hospitality was wonderful. The place is gorgeous and very functional.

You may not know, but NASMI’s own Mike Voight is on the advisory board for TPI and even assists in teaching the various three levels of certification.

I highly recommend you check out MyTPI.com and see what’s going on. The website has many useful features that are free of charge. If you become certified by TPI, there are even greater benefits found on the website. Check it out!

Honoring Frank Jobe

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:51:58 +0000

On October 24-25 of 2008, Champ Baker MD, Jim Andrews MD, and Neal EllAttrache MD, and Lewis Yocum MD chaired a very special CEU course in Las Vegas to honor Frank Jobe MD…arguably the father of modern baseball throwing arm medicine. There was a who’s-who’s of baseball surgeons and therapists presenting. They let one old clinician from Georgia be on the faculty and I was greatly honored.

A few years ago, the topic of baseball throwing injuries was addressed by many of these same speakers in Cooperstown NY. Wow, the orthopaedic management of shoulder and elbow injuries has really changed with good evidence based medicine and of course technology.

A few years ago, a PASTA lesion in a baseball pitcher’s rotator cuff would be debrided and then rehabbed. Today, most PASTA injuries will be repaired arthroscopically and then rehabbed.

Rehabilitation has progressed to more and more proprioceptive based exercises but the basics are still there for addressing the scapula and rotator cuff muscles that have been proven to be effective in previous research.

It was awesome to be in a casual situation with many of these surgeons and have dinner together. The pressure on surgeons who practice in the “media spotlight” is unbelievable and one of my dinner table guests was under intense scrutiny because of an athlete he was treating was having a post-operative problem.
Of course, having dinner with Frank Jobe was very special. He was recovering from surgery himself and doing very well. He gave a very inspiring presentation. I wish everyone in baseball sports care could have heard him. God Bless you Frank Jobe and thanks for all of your contributions to the care of baseball players!