The Cervical Spine and Shoulder
A comprehensive biopsychosocial approach to neck and shoulder pain.
Comprehensive journey to a biopsychosocial approach to the cervical spine and shoulder.
- Deep dive into the literature and epidemiology
- Psychologically informed practice including cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Exercise prescription incorporating movement variance and motor learning theories.
Payment Options
Curriculum
What you'll learn in this course
In this section, we want to know just a bit about you, your goals, and what drives you to do what you do! We will also give you a bit of a background about what motivates us to bring you these courses and what you can expect.
That’s when we get stuck into it.
Let’s talk about critical thinking and logic. Imagine if the people we were seeing in the clinic weren’t improving for the reasons we thought they were. Wouldn’t you want to know what the active ingredients were so you could leverage those components and drop anything else that may be getting in the way of a person’s recovery?
That’s what we will explore in this section and much more. We promise you will find this section thought-provoking!
Introductions (13:20)
Navigating the platform (4:58)
Definitions, philosophical frameworks & critical thinking (21:24)
Casual Conversations - 1 (28:46)
What does the big data tell us about neck pain? When is imaging helpful? What is it telling us? What are the best-practice guidelines for managing neck-related pain? What do we need to consider when applying movement and exercise principles for someone with neck pain? Here, we answer those questions and explore some of the biggest myths in our society that may be harming us and getting in the way of recovery.
Epidemiology (17:07)
Imaging (8:00)
Guidelines (7:31)
Text neck and other archaic narratives (10:25)
Exercise considerations for neck pain (6:28)
Whiplash associated disorder (3:14)
Although statistically, we may not see high volumes of it, serious pathology that requires specific support and referral is likely to be something you come across in your career. Remaining vigilant and having a solid grasp of the signs and symptoms that may indicate something more sinister is going on is imperative to being a good clinician. Here, we provide a brief refresher to ensure you’re comfortable with these concepts.
Red flags (13:51)
In this module we discuss the basics of the physiology that underpins tissue injury and pain, and how bio, psycho, and social factors can influence this biology. We then explore how our practice can evolve to reflect this science, and how we can apply this knowledge in the clinic.
The fundamentals of pain science (25:39)
A closer look at the biology (12:38)
Tissue injury and pain (7:26)
Placebo and Nocebo (25:48)
Biopsychosocial practice (15:17)
Casual Conversations - 2 (20:47)
Think about this for a second. Your brain is encased in darkness, yet right now, you can see light… maybe you can even feel that light. Have you ever considered that the light that you see is nothing more than electrical impulses pulsating through your brain, being organised, and constructed based on your best guesses on what the light hitting the sensors in your eyes means? Is this the same as the sensory information coming from that painful body part?
In this module, we explore our most prominent cognitive neuroscientific theory for perception and action, how we can use this to reframe our clinical interactions, have empathy for differing perceptions and behaviours, and how we can leverage this knowledge to enhance client outcomes.
An introduction to perception (14:21)
A Bayesian perspective (13:16)
Perception and action (8:00)
Clients seek help because they have an issue. They attend with a set of beliefs and thoughts and feelings about their condition and future. They act and behave in certain ways to serve their survival needs. And all these factors can be complex and difficult to comprehend as an outsider (e.g., a clinician aiming to help).
In this module, we explore a useful framework for organising complex human experiences. The framework will enable you to navigate and develop, with the client, a coherent, values-driven, set of strategies to move towards recovery.
The model and its applications in the clinic (27:17)
Hold on tight for this one. Here, we go through the literature on loads of common concepts about the shoulder, including shoulder impingement, frozen shoulder, and shoulders with a history of dislocation.
Which common ideas are fact? Which are myth? Is there some nuance in our interpretation of all the information out there?
This section will fast-track you through all the noise, allowing you to focus on the components that really matter for recovery.
Shoulder function, epidemiology, and basic anatomy (6:26)
Testing for shoulder pathology (4:50)
Shoulder impingement (14:16)
Shoulder imaging (6:57)
Scapula Dyskinesis (14:38)
Weak and painful shoulder presentations (14:25)
Shoulders with a history of dislocation (14:20)
Stiff and painful shoulder presentations (12:18)
Consistent factors in the treatment of shoulders (5:37)
The hallmark of a good clinician is the ability to have a client feel heard, validated, and motivated to engage in their recovery. This section leans on motivational interviewing skills, elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to ensure you can maximise your client outcomes. This is all exemplified with real client sessions to maximise your learning outcomes!
Often, people see communication skills as a bit airy-fairy. But we guarantee you will be excited about exploring different strategies and techniques in your practice once you finish this section.
Fundamentals and the subjective assessment (37.25)
Experiential learning (6:32)
Debrief of clinical example (13:43)
Handling challenging scenarios (15:03)
Tying it all together (64:24)
Self-care & summary (11:17)
Building on all the theories and concepts you’ve learnt so far, we now dive into applying movement and physical activity to people with neck and shoulder pain. In this section, we explore setting up movement experiments for people to safely test their capacity, grading load and other biopsychosocial factors and strategies that look to assist in modifying symptoms for those who just need some pain relief.
You’ll come out of this module with a fresh perspective on using movement in the clinic and excited to explore some new strategies.
Graded activity (17:11)
Constraint-based learning & motor learning (14:21)
Constraint-based exercise ideas (25:52)
Symptom modification exercise ideas (29:45)
Casual Conversations - 3 (15:42)
In this final module, we summarise the importance of what you’ve learnt, the strategies you can use to implement what you’ve learnt, and the support and resources you can access to continue your journey.
Clinical footprint, mentorship and other resources (9:25)
6+ hours of content (lectures, quizzes, and activities) that'll fast track your career!
Gain access to all lectures, learning resources, further readings, podcasts, and exclusive content. This course attracts a content implementation session (worth $190) with one of our team members who will ensure you maximise what you get out of your course and ensure you keep moving forward!
What others are saying:
"I HIGHLY recommend this for EVERYONE, regardless of your current ability to interpret research - such a good baseline for understanding and delving into science and philosophy. Definitely made me a more critical and logical thinker and has significantly impacted the way I approach difficult topics with my patients and people in general. TOP course."
- Rohit, Physiotherapist
Tick of approval and endorsed!
We make sure that you are getting the most from our courses by staying relevant and accredited.
This course is accredited for 15 ESSA CPD points or 16 hours of equivalent CPD. This course has the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) international tick of approval