Audience: This continuing education seminar is targeted to physical therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapist assistants, registered nurses, nurse midwives, and other rehabilitation professionals. Content is not intended for use outside the scope of the learner's license or regulation. Physical therapy continuing education courses should not be taken by individuals who are not licensed or otherwise regulated, except, as they are involved in a specific plan of care.
Level: Beginner
Contact hours: 22.5 (CEUs vary by state)
Price: $695 (Early registrant price of $675 for registrations received one month before course start date)
Required Assignments and Readings

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This continuing education course is a three-day seminar designed to provide a thorough introduction to female pelvic floor function, dysfunction and treatment interventions. It is geared to the physical therapist who wants to synthesize the information and apply it to individual treatment programs for urinary incontinence or the musculoskeletal components of urogynecologic pain syndromes, chronic pelvic pain (CPP), levator ani syndrome, vulvodynia, and interstitial cystitis (IC). This continuing education seminar teaches evaluation and treatment interventions by instructional assessment of the pelvic floor muscles with internal vaginal examination and SEMG biofeedback assessment. The information is immediately applicable to clinical practice.

Presentation of evidence-based evaluation and treatment techniques will be emphasized. Outcome measures and quality of life questionnaires will be presented for both urinary incontinence and pain syndromes. Daily lab time allows for supervised instruction of pelvic floor muscle evaluation with external palpation and internal vaginal examination of pelvic floor musculature. For each condition the therapist will learn to: recognize the key signs and symptoms that lead to impairment, functional limitations and disabilities; use an evaluation/outcome tool; and perform a suggested protocol of treatment interventions. Clinical treatment interventions will include therapeutic exercise, SEMG biofeedback, external manual therapy, patient related education/behavioral instructions and electrotherapeutic modalities.

Special Considerations:
As this continuing education course includes extensive lab work, all course attendees should come prepared to participate as both clinician and patient. Vaginal pelvic floor muscle examinations will be taught in labs. Male course attendees may participate fully in the entire course if they bring their own lab model for examination. Pregnant women course attendees may participate fully in the entire course if they bring their own lab model for examination, or if the attendee insists on lab participation then a clearance letter from their physician allowing them to participate in the labs is required. We strongly recommend that pregnant attendees bring a model as vaginal examination and internal myofascial manual therapy prior to 32 weeks gestation is not the common standard of medical practice.

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Upon completion of this continuing education seminar, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the muscle layers and specific muscles of the pelvic floor
2. List the pelvic floor muscle functions
3. Describe and perform pelvic floor muscle evaluation techniques with observation, vaginal palpation, and SEMG biofeedback
4. List appropriate outcome measure tools for urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic pain
5. List precautions, contraindications, universal precautions for pelvic floor examination and treatment
6. Identify specific pelvic pain conditions (vulvodynia, IC and CPP) and common physical therapy interventions applicable to the physical therapist
7. Identify the various types of urinary incontinence and behavioral treatment options applicable to the physical therapist
8. List two diagnoses that would benefit from applications of electrotherapy
9. Describe the applications and instrumentation parameters of SEMG biofeedback for the pelvic floor
10. Develop evidence-based treatment plans and progressive clinical goals for female pelvic floor dysfunctions

Have a question about this course? Contact Us.

Have a question about this course? Contact Us.

Tracy Sher, MPT, CSCS

Tracy Sher, MPT, CSCS is a pelvic physical therapy consultant and founder of the start-up, Pelvic Guru. Over her eleven-plus years in this specialized field, she has successfully started or helped expand large hospital-based women’s health/pelvic physical therapy programs.

Most recently, Tracy was the manager of the Pelvic Health Rehabilitation Program of Florida Hospital in Orlando, FL, where she was lead clinical practitioner for the outpatient clinics associated with the Pelvic Health program. She regularly worked and consulted with world-renowned specialized programs such as The Complex Abdominal and Pelvic Pain Program, Dr. Georgine Lamvu’s Vulvar Pain Clinic, and the Global Robotics Institute. Tracy has a passion for treating complex pelvic pain patients, in particular.

Tracy has presented for the International Pelvic Pain Society and the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. She has also been a speaker at the APTA’s Annual Conference regarding the topic of Women’s Health Diagnoses and Exercise. She regularly presented lectures to OB/GYN’s for Grand Rounds at Florida Hospital and GYN, Family Health and Colorectal Residents and Fellows, Urology- Prostate Surgery Teams and the Endometriosis Support Group. She leads a GYN Family Resident Pelvic PT observation program.

Tracy received her Bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. She completed her Master of Physical Therapy degree at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, where she also received an award for clinical excellence. She is currently completing her Sexual Counseling certification through AASECT. She is a member of the APTA SOWH, American Association of Sexuality Counselors, Educators and Therapists, the National Vulvodynia Association, the International Pelvic Pain Society, and contributes to Pudendal Neuralgia networks.

Kathe Wallace, PT, BCB-PMD

Kathe Wallace, PT, BCB-PMD is an internationally recognized author, lecturer and consultant in women’s health and pelvic floor dysfunction evaluation and treatment. Since 1988, her clinical practice has specialized in the evaluation and treatment of the pelvis, pelvic floor and ob/gyn musculoskeletal conditions. Kathe has served as the Washington state representative for the Section on Women's Health of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). In 2006, she received the Washington State Physical Therapy Association (PTWA) Clinical Excellence Award.

Kathe graduated from UCLA with a BS in Kinesiology and received her PT certificate from Children’s Hospital School of Physical Therapy in 1976. She has an eclectic background of acute care, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, neurological rehabilitation, outpatient pain management and movement based orthopedic treatment. Kathe's credentials include Level II Certification from the North American Institute of Orthopedic Manual Therapy (NAIOMT), Exercise Specialist Certification from the American College of SportsMedicine (ACSM), and Biofeedback Certifcation in Pelvic Muscle Dysfunction Biofeedback(BCB-PMD).

Kathe has developed educational materials for practitioners through ProgressiveTherapeutics and was a co-investigator for the development of a validated functional tool for vulvodynia.

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