Appropriate and Efficient Management of Shoulder Injuries: Who Needs Surgery?

Overview:

Are you ready to sharpen your clinical decision-making and empower your patients with the most effective treatment strategies for shoulder injuries? Recent research is transforming how we manage rotator cuff injuries, with physical therapy emerging as the preferred first-line treatment for most patients—without the need for surgery!

In this cutting-edge, CPA-endorsed online course, you'll dive into real-world data from a prospective cohort study, where patients followed a standardized rehabilitation program and were monitored to determine who required surgical consultation. The results showed that 78% of patients with shoulder pathology successfully recovered through targeted rehab, with marked improvements in pain, strength, and other key outcome measures. You’ll also learn how specific patient factors can predict rehabilitation success, and how to use this knowledge to optimize your treatment plans.

Join us to build confidence in managing patient expectations, effectively educating your clients, and guiding them toward the best decision—whether they need surgery or if physical therapy can restore their shoulder function. This course is designed for physiotherapists, but all healthcare professionals interested in shoulder injury management are welcome.

Learning Objectives

1. Review existing literature and best practices in physical therapy for both operative and non-operative management of shoulder pathologies.

2. Understand the primary and secondary objectives, as well as the outcome measures utilized in the study discussed throughout the course.

3. Gain insights into the study design and the standardized physical therapy interventions implemented.

4. Summarize the study results, identifying patient characteristics associated with failed rehabilitation and their impact on patient outcome measures.

5. Interpret the significance of the study results and how they inform treatment decisions in physical therapy practice.

6. Identify predictors of failure in non-operative treatment for chronic, symptomatic rotator cuff tears, and discuss the influence of patient expectations on rehabilitation outcomes.

7. Develop strategies for managing patient expectations and effectively communicating diagnoses using appropriate language.

Speaker: Dr. Judy Chepeha

Dr. Judy Chepeha is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Alberta, where she also received her Physical Therapy degree, as well as her Master’s and PhD degrees in Rehabilitation Medicine.

Her clinical and research interests focus on the upper extremity, specifically shoulder pathology and rehabilitation. She is an active member of the Shoulder and Upper Extremity Research Group of Edmonton (SURGE).