Treatment of Common Extremity Dysfunction through Mobilization
Course Description
There are few courses available where you will learn how to treat so many common extremity dysfunctions with so much success. This is a course that will change how you look at common extremity diagnoses, and will help you to start treating differently on Monday morning. The focus of this course is using joint mobilization to normalize the stress on the tissues around a joint, immediately decreasing the stress on the tissues and secondary pain that this creates. This will take your understanding of extremity mobilization far beyond what you learned in school.
As with all of our manual therapy courses, this seminar will follow a progression of principles and reinforce them throughout the 16 hours. This course is at least 75% hands-on lab, and will give the clinician skills they can use immediately upon their return to the clinical setting.
Please visit our Resource Center to check for course approval in your state.
Extremity Course Schedule
Course Objectives
At the completion of this seminar, the participant will be able to:
- Accurately explain the rationale for performing joint mobilization and its specific physiological effects
- Explain and correctly demonstrate grading, oscillation techniques and sustained-hold techniques of joint mobilizations
- Accurately identify the joint surface anatomy of each joint discussed in this course
- Accurately explain the application of the joint surface anatomy to the mechanics of each joint discussed in this course
- Demonstrate proper extremity mobilization technique, hand placement, and body mechanics during lab scenarios
Topics Covered
- Overview of surface structure and its effect on mobilization
- Introduction and review of conservative and aggressive mobilization techniques with emphasis on functional application
- Introduction and review of dynamic mobilization techniques
- The shoulder/scapula
- The elbow
- The wrist and hand
- The hip
- The knee
- The ankle and foot
- Application to specific clinical situations
Course Instructors
Jeff Garbacz
PT, DPT, CIMT
Jeff began his education as a physical therapist at Albion College where he received a B.A. in Sports Medicine with an emphasis on Biomechanics. He went onto the University of Michigan to receive his Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Jeff has extensive clinical experience working with the orthopedic population. He utilizes manual therapy in combination with a functionally based exercise to allow his patients to return to their prior functional level. Jeff's philosophy in treating patients involves finding the origin of the problem versus treating the symptoms, allowing problems to go away and stay away. Jeff has trained the primary instructors for the Knee and Shoulder courses and is the primary instructor for the Extremity Mobilization course for Great Lakes Seminars. Jeff is the Director of Operations for Advanced Physical Therapy in Southfield, MI.

Course Outline
Saturday
Continental breakfast
Lecture: Introduction, overview of anatomy, biomechanics, mobilizations
Lecture: Discussion of hypertonicity vs adaptive shortening, tendinosis vs tendinitis, muscle weakness vs muscle inhibition
Lunch (on your own)
Lab: The shoulder complex mobilizations
Review
Adjourn
Sunday
Continental breakfast
Lab: Speed mobilizations
Lab: The elbow complex mobilizations
Lab: The wrist/hand complex mobilizations
Lab: The hip complex mobilizations
Lunch (on your own)
Lab: The knee complex mobilizations
Lab: The foot/ankle complex mobilizations
Case studies/speed mobilizations
Review
Adjourn