Pharmacology Fundamentals for Therapists

Pharmacology Fundamentals for Therapists 

Patients undergoing therapy routinely take both prescription drugs and OTC medicines that ultimately influence treatment outcomes. Therapists with knowledge of these medicines practice safer, more effective therapy. The course will examine Rx and non-Rx medicine used in the therapy setting and will cover side effects that influence treatment and outcomes. Information will focus on drug actions and patient errors when treating pain, as well as common disorders of the musculoskeletal, neurologic, cardiorespiratory, and endocrine systems. Common OTC drugs and herbals are examined for occult hazards and drug interactions. 

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="103" caption="Mark Nash"]Mark Nash[/caption]

Mark S. Nash, Ph.D., FACSM is a dynamic instructor who is highly regarded for his ability to take complex information and make it meaningful and clinically relevant. His pharmacology courses have earned widespread kudos for ease of understanding and relevance to therapy practice. 

We are thrilled to be able to offer this course:
November 16th, 2013 – Pensacola, FL
January 31, 2014 – Portsmouth, NH
March 15, 2014 – Hollywood, FL
May 9, 2014 – White Plains, NY
November 8, 2014 – Tulsa, OK

 

 
 
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Therapist is seeking your suggestions and strategies for treating an autistic patient with JRA, and Total Hip Replacement

Samantha Posts:

DEAR ERI COMMUNITY: I am a relatively new physical therapist and have an interesting patient that I would appreciate tips/suggestion for treatment techniques. I work in an acute care setting. I typically work with orthopedic patients (adults), those both who have recent TKA/THA and orthopedic trauma patients. I have a new pediatric patient, age 8 accelerated and progressive JRA and a history of hip dysplasia. This patient had received prior physical therapy prior to surgery, although I do not have assess to the notes as it was at another facility, so I am not sure of what interventions the previous therapist performed. The patient had dislocated her hip x2 prior to admission. The patient underwent a total hip replacement. Secondary to the age of the patient and the surgical intervention, the patient is currently TDWB, strict posterior hip precautions, and a Hip Spica Brace that is to be worn at all times. The patient is to be seen BID for a stay of 1 week to 1.5 weeks. Along with the significant orthopedic history, the patient has a past medical history of autism. With regards to the autism spectrum, this patient is nearly non-verbal, somewhat resistant to touch, and displays a lack of interest in general. I have had one treatment session with this patient which was very difficult for the patient to focus and she was very agitated throughout the treatment session with an obvious lack of interest in the treatment session. She had a extreme difficulty with maintaining WB status and ambulation with use of assistive device. As far a “play” therapy or activities to engage the patient, do any experienced therapist have suggestions/strategies for interventions allowing for minimal agitation and overall compliance with WB and hip precautions in order for a successful session? Thank you for your help.

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Why Runners Don’t Get Knee Arthritis

Education ResourcesA recent study published in Med Sci Sports Exercise (September 12, 2013 (Epub ahead of print) compared the forces that were generated (knee joint loads) while running to walking over the same distance in a small group of healthy adults. Although the peak load was three times higher in running, the relatively short duration of ground contact and relatively long length of strides in running were no higher than in walking in total per distance traveled.

The authors point out that runners do not have an especially high risk of knee OA compared to non-runners. Is this the reason why?

Walking is considered a low-impact activity and many physicians recommend walking for their older patients for both cardiovascular health and as a safer alternative to running. Previous studies had pointed out that running does not substantially increase the risk of developing hip arthritis and does not predict the future need for a total hip replacement. When compared to people who were less active, they had less overall risk of developing arthritis that people who were less active. However, until now, no one has compared the forces generated in an attempt to explain this paradox.

The primary author of the knee study says that their results are not an endorsement of running for knee health. Runners frequently succumb to knee injuries unrelated to arthritis, he said, and his study does not address or explain that situation. One such ailment is patellofemoral pain syndrome (runners’ knee).

These two studies leave many unanswered questions:

  • Did the weight (BMI) of the runners make a difference in their ultimate outcome in the real world (OA vs. no OA)?
  • Do runners with poor form/poor alignment stop running so there is a self selection process going on?
  • Is using the forces generated per distance measurement a legitimate way to look at forces generated over a lifetime of running and walking?
  • Does this study substantiate what you, the clinician, see in your practice? Or do you tend to see the “running failures” who due to faulty biomechanics or faulty genetics end up giving up on the attempt to be life-long runners? 
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Therapist seeks your help and advice for patient with severe ASD

Jennifer Posts:

DEAR ERI COMMUNITY: Hi everyone. I’m having a hard time with a patient I’m working with and would like some advice/tips please. I’m working with a 12 y/o female dx with severe ASD. She is almost completely nonverbal with the exception of “yes”, “go”, and basic animals. She is a very tall and strong girl that can easily over power me. The problem is she becomes very aggressive, increasing verbal stims, and begins hitting herself and others. She is very difficult to calm. I have identified many of the cues she gives before becoming aggressive and have identified some causes including bright lights we now work in a dimly lit treatment room with minimal natural light, and have changed the tx time to the early afternoon at a less busy time in the clinic. We have tried vestibular, deep pressure, vibration, etc. Do you have any other calming techniques that I haven’t tried yet? Thank you!

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Enter to win a free CEU course by sharing clinical challenges and tips with ERI

We would like to bring back our popular blog discussions, and build on our community of therapists. Our therapists found this avenue for discussions about clinical cases, problems and therapy tips to be invaluable.

We are offering you the opportunity to be entered into a drawing for a free CEU course. All you need to do is submit a blog entry which can be:
1. a clinical issue that you are seeking opinions about. 
2. a case problem that you are struggling with. 
3. a therapy tip that you would like to share.

The post can be of any length (up to 500 words) and photos and videos are great, as long as you have obtained written permission.

We will enter the first 50 blogs in a drawing for a free ERI course. 
Deadline for entry is October 31st, 2013 winner to be announced in November

Please post your blog in the comments section below…… you will then see your entry posted as a separate blog

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing them with our ERI community.

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