The PT & OT Connection Podcast

Research on the short- and long-term effects of concussions has evolved significantly in the past decade.  Rehabilitation professionals are often part of the medical professionals who help individuals recover from these injuries.  The recognition of concussions in populations from athletes to geriatrics and specifically how to treat the signs and symptoms of concussions is a key skill set.  This c...

Research shows that exercise is the best treatment for osteoporosis, but not all exercise is the same.  Scientists agree that weight-bearing activities are the best types of exercise for osteoporosis. However, there are more specific activities that can enhance bone mineral density growth in a greater pattern.  This podcast will cover the latest in research treatment and exercise techniques for de...

Often, patients and referring providers are asking clinics if they offer dry needling. Providers and patients are looking for non-pharmacological ways to reduce pain and enhance function.  In many cases, therapists want to offer it but need more education before spending hours and money on additional training. This course will give you an overview of dry needling, weigh the potential benefits/mech...

Therapists working in school-based environments are faced with complex caseloads, multiple areas they are expected to address for each child, and challenges of providing services to children with specialized needs. Therapy services in schools continue to be influenced by several factors, including legislative mandates, state and local policies and procedures, personnel availability, court rulings,...

Every second of every day, an older adult suffers a fall in the U.S. Three million people are hospitalized each year because of falls and fall-related injuries. 40% of hospital admissions are a result of falls.  Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury and account for 95% of hip fractures. Falls are also the leading cause of death from injury in older adults in the U.S. Based on t...

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently imposed stringent guidelines for screen time. New clinical case studies have found that many young children who spend too much time watching screens display symptoms of autism. When parents take away the screens for a few months, the child’s symptoms disappear. Considering this information, what are the changes we see in the developing brain when exp...

Shoulder injuries are a common issue in the geriatric patient presenting to rehabilitation. Specific shoulder dysfunctions are more often encountered in the older patient requiring specific knowledge for successful rehab management.  This podcast will present the current evidence on proximal humerus fractures, rotator cuff tears and glenohumeral osteoarthritis.  It will specifically cover pathophy...

Do you find yourself spending most of your treatment time dealing with maladaptive behaviors in children?  Have you considered why there is such a prevalence of behavioral challenges?  What has changed over the last 30 years to cause this rise in maladaptive behavioral patterns?  In this course clinicians will dig to the root cause of maladaptive behavioral patterns and learn effective treatment s...

This podcast will present an overview of the current literature on the different surgical approaches in total knee arthroplasty.  It will also spend time discussing the lateral approach total knee arthroplasty, which is becoming a more widely utilized approach in TKA. Discussion will integrate the information from the first part of the course and how the different approaches may affect the rehab p...

As our aging population continues to grow in the United States, management of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias is becoming a public health crisis with burden to the patient, family, and healthcare system rising each decade. Deficits associated with these challenging pathologies can make it difficult to engage these patients in necessary rehabilitation activities for improved function. Pat...

Falls among older adults are becoming a public health crisis and significant burden on the healthcare system.  More than 95% of hip fractures are caused by falling. Falls cost the healthcare system about $31 billion dollars annually. In fact, falls are not a normal part of aging and can be prevented with the proper assessment and management.  Rehabilitation professionals are primed to lead this in...

According to the National Institute of Health, more than one-third (35.2%) of adults in the U.S., aged 65 and over report some level of dysfunction with ADL. Some of the resulting outcomes include poor sleep, malnutrition, social isolation, depression, pain, UTIs and falls. Since nearly one-third of all seniors live alone, that means that roughly 14 million seniors have no direct access to caregiv...

Hip fractures in older adults are most often a result of low energy trauma.  Osteoporosis, impaired balance, poor vision, and hazardous living environments all contribute to injury.  Hip fracture unfortunately contributes to increased risk of mortality within one year, often for systemic or other illness.  Fracture can be preventable in some cases; in others appropriate initial and post operative...

For a patient to be eligible to receive covered home health services, they must be deemed “confined to the home” or homebound.  The time has come to demystify the two conditions, or criterion, which formulate the groundwork of the homebound status.  Magic words such as “taxing effort” do not, in and of themselves, deem one homebound. Only by exploring the physiological implications of the patient’...

Clinicians are now charged with providing quick gains in an episode of care with complex patients, such as those with Parkinson’s disease. Funding cuts continue to require clinicians to provide shorter episodes of care, despite neurological disease progression. This one-hour podcast will provide physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, occupational therapists, and occupational therapy ass...

Accurate OASIS coding is essential for all home health clinicians due to the direct impact quality indicators will have on an agency’s star rating. With the CMS plan to move to a universal outcome measure for all post-acute settings, OASIS will become an important tool beyond home health. Payment through PDGM and PDPM are driven, at least in part, by improvement as measured through OASIS. This cou...

This podcast will cover the current evidence on the benefits of strength training in the geriatric population.  It will discuss the differences between pre -frail, frail, and sarcopenia in relation to exercise prescription in rehab.  It will also examine how this evidence applies to rehabilitation professionals and how it can be successfully implemented in the rehab setting.  To view accreditation...

Recent advances in joint replacement surgeries have allowed patients to return home earlier and earlier.  This course will concentrate specifically on same day joint rehabilitation visits in the home or outpatient setting.  General guidelines with emphasis on medication management, post operative nutrition, and general incision care and staple removal will be covered.  The podcast will also cover...

Each dementia patient healthcare practitioners treat requires a unique and personal approach requiring a profound understanding of occupational and personal history to maximize aspects of long-term and procedural memory. The challenges of isolation and routine disruptions resulted in a catastrophic adjustment to care services and caregiver burden during the COVID pandemic. Moreover, there is emerg...