This package includes the following:

• 21 online articles from Sports Medicine Research
• Online continuing education exam

Upper extremity injury and pain encompass an array of pathologies and can affect up to 33% of the population. Upper extremity pain has many risk factors—including age, sport, and activity—and can be caused by neurological disorders stemming from the cervical and thoracic spine, joint dysfunctions, muscular issues, or other soft tissue pathologies.

Treatment and rehabilitation for upper extremity injuries are often based on anecdotal evidence, which makes clinical decisions difficult. A large range of treatment options are thought to improve outcomes; however, not all are truly effective.

Evidence-Based Management of Upper Extremity Injuries Online CE Course provides a series of 21 articles on research regarding upper extremity injuries, demonstrating how athletic trainers and therapists can apply the information from existing studies to their own practice. Using current evidence, you’ll understand how to optimize treatment and rehabilitation techniques for upper extremity injuries and better educate and advise your patients about various treatment options.

This course supports the initiative in the athletic training profession to integrate the best new research and evidence into clinical decision making with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

Once you complete the readings and pass the 105-question exam, you can print a certificate for continuing education credits.

Learning Objectives

• Apply scapular stabilization exercises that promote optimal muscle activation patterns.
• Implement manual therapy and stretching exercises to target upper extremity conditions (e.g., lateral epicondylitis, internal rotation deficits).
• Explain the benefits of corticosteroid or platelet-rich plasma injections as an adjunct to therapy for various upper extremity conditions.
• Implement safe and effective treatment strategies after rotator cuff repair surgery.

Audience

Certified athletic trainers and athletic therapists.

Article 1. What’s the Real Story? Effect of Fatigue on Acromiohumeral Distance and Scapular Position
Article 2. Rehabilitation Exercises for the Lower Trapezius
Article 3. Differences in Scapular Muscle Activation Ratios During Functional Shoulder Exercises
Article 4. Is EMG Biofeedback Effective at Treating Patients With Shoulder Impingement?
Article 5. Joint Mobilization Improves Posterior Capsule Mobility in the Shoulder
Article 6. Can the Sleeper Stretch Increase Range of Motion and the Subacromial Space?
Article 7. Muscle Energy Used to Improve Posterior Shoulder Tightness
Article 8. Does Myofascial Release Improve Lateral Epicondylitis Symptoms?
Article 9. Kinesiotaping With Exercise Versus Manual Therapy With Exercise in Patients With Subacromial Impingement Syndrome
Article 10. Kinesiotaping Improves Shoulder Symptoms More Than Modalities
Article 11. Education and Interaction May Be the Key to Successful Subacromial Impingement Syndrome Therapy
Article 12. Treat the Spine, Help the Shoulder
Article 13. PRP Injections for Chronic Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy
Article 14. What Is the Best Treatment Option for Calcific Tendinitis of the Rotator Cuff?
Article 15. What Is the Optimal Dose of Corticosteroids for Adhesive Capsulitis?
Article 16. Questionable Long-Term Effectiveness of Physiotherapy and Corticosteroid Injections for Tennis Elbow
Article 17. Can an Additional Restriction of Glenohumeral Abduction After Immobilization Prevent Recurrent Dislocations?
Article 18. Evolution of Nonoperatively Treated Symptomatic Isolated Full-Thickness Supraspinatus Tears
Article 19. Is Early Passive Motion Necessary After Rotator Cuff Repairs?
Article 20. Aggressive Versus Limited Early Passive Exercises After Rotator Cuff Repair
Article 21. Low-Level Laser Therapy With Exercise Improves Shoulder Pain

Jeffrey B. Driban, PhD, ATC, is an assistant professor in the division of rheumatology at Tufts University School of Medicine and a member of the special and scientific staff at Tufts Medical Center. The goal of his research is to explore novel biochemical and imaging markers to gain a better understanding of osteoarthritis pathophysiology and potential disease phenotypes.

Driban received his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the University of Delaware. During his doctoral training at Temple University, he focused on various aspects of osteoarthritis, such as early pathophysiology in animal models, biochemical markers in joint fluid, systematic reviews of risk factors for osteoarthritis, and survey of medication use among patients with osteoarthritis. In January 2010 he began a postdoctoral research fellowship in the division of rheumatology at Tufts Medical Center, where he continued his focus on osteoarthritis and learned new assessment strategies in magnetic resonance imaging.

Stephen Thomas, PhD, ATC, is an assistant professor at Temple University. Thomas received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in athletic training from Temple University. He then received his PhD in biomechanics and movement science from the University of Delaware. Before working at Neumann University, Thomas completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering, where he received a Ruth L. Kirschstein Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health. He has served on several national committees and is the chair of the research committee for the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow Therapists.

Thomas continues to be active in the area of research, participating as a manuscript reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. He is on the executive board for Athletic Training and Sports Health Care. He also was an ad hoc grant reviewer for the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association and is the cofounder of the Sports Medicine Research site (). Thomas has numerous peer-reviewed publications and abstracts on shoulder adaptations resulting from overhead throwing and on the basic science of rotator cuff injury and healing. He also has given several invited lectures throughout the United States on overhead throwing.