Dr. Chad Cook Mechanisms and Clinical Effects of Orthopaedic Manual Therapy: Understanding and Application Based on Evidence

Course Purpose: The program is designed to review the (specific effects) associated with thrust and non-thrust manipulation as well as the clinical outcomes associated with the approach as a treatment. The course is 65% lab-based and 35% lecture-based. In addition, common thrust and non-thrust techniques will be used in a laboratory format for application skills. Topics discussed will include:

1. What influences outcomes (e.g., natural history, non-specific and specific effects)
2. Specific mechanisms associated with thrust and non-thrust manipulation;
3. The theory of specificity;
4. Whether one form of manual therapy leads to improved mechanisms or clinical effects;
5. How to “present” a manual therapy to a patient;
6. The overall clinical effects associated with thrust and non-thrust manipulation

Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will:

1. Understand the peer-reviewed literature on manual therapy mechanisms
2. Synthesize the clinically-oriented evidence on thrust and non-thrust manipulation
3. Apply common manual therapy techniques in a laboratory setting
4. Recognize the gaps in the literature for thrust and non-thrust manipulation