Advance Your Career with Our Physiotherapy Courses
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Are you a health professional or student who is looking for the perfect course to enhance your skills and knowledge? Amy Riddick Physiotherapy offers a range of courses on active treatment of most of the human body. From rehabilitation techniques to injury prevention strategies, these courses are conveniently pre-recorded and available online for you to start learning today. Explore our course offerings and take the first step towards a healthier, more active lifestyle for yourself and your patients. |
Course Preview - Chapter One
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FREE Case Study - Neck and Shoulder Active Treatment
This is an example of how people recover within 4-5 visits (these treatments have been working well for over 20 years):
Visit #1: Repeated retractions in sitting (RRIS) + proper neck alignment and/or Shrug Level 1. If RRIS is painful or peripheralizes, do repeated ipsilateral SF or rotation first. Review exercise guidelines. If a shoulder lacks ROM or the endfeel is abnormal, add bilat. external rotation (ER) to prevent frozen shoulder.
Visit #2: Review and correct RRIS and ER.
Teach Shrug Level 1 if not taught on visit #1 and ask how it feels or progress to Shrug Level 2 if ready. We should never expect perfect symmetry of shoulders at rest since everyone has a dominant arm, but if the upper fibres of trapezius muscle is longer than the other side, it is even weaker. Encouraging an extra 20% on that side during the exercise is usually enough to even it up dynamically. Check to see if retractors are over-activating and correct with your hands if needed (hands-on cuing to separate the shoulder blades).
Ask about sleeping position and pillow and advise whether to adapt the current pillow or position, or try a new pillow.
Start lower fibres of serrated anterior (LFSA) posture but tell the patient it usually takes 3-4 visits to really get it and reassure them that you will review it with them each visit until they do. Explain that correcting their shoulder posture this way makes the most space for the rotator cuff and long head of biceps tendon (between the acromion and head of the humerus) so it is worth the effort.
Visit #3: repeat LFSA posture, review or progress to Shrug Level 2, review RRIS and ER. Make sure they understand to do RRIS to zero pain, for fastest recovery.
Ask if they adjusted their pillow. Once the pillow and position are corrected, morning should become the least painful time of day.
Recommend regular exercise. If they do not love to exercise, mention that even 10 minutes straight of housework counts.
Visit #4: Shrug Level 3 if ready, refine RRIS, posture, LFSA, discuss strategies for ADLs and sports. For example, volleyball spikers can visualize and practise shrugging with the same timing as Level 3 to spike/serve/block right after doing 3-5 shrugs. Non-athletes need to shrug when reaching above shoulder level (cupboards, shelves, washing and styling hair, etc.).
If not exercising much, encourage exercise for 10 minutes twice daily to increase circulation and speed up recovery. Use WCPT exercise guideline handout if ideas are needed (in downloads.)
Visit #5: If needed, to progress to Shrug Level 3, refine LFSA posture, follow-up on ADLs/sports.
Youtube exercise links can be emailed to patients once they have tried the exercise in the clinic.
If you are a health or fitness pro and would like to learn how to resolve neck pain quickly, check out this preview of Amy's pre-recorded online Neck and Shoulder Active Treatment Course and/or go to the Shop tab to purchase.
FREE Case Study - Low Back Active Treatment
This is a typical example of how people recover within 4-5 visits (these treatments have been working well for over 20 years):
Visit #1: My versions of transversus abdominis (TrA) strengthening Level 1 and the sciatic nerve exercise, plus a strategy to reduce back pain while standing, walking, rolling in bed, transferring.
Explain centralization vs. peripheraization.
Avoid bending, twisting, sitting. Discuss standing, walking and lying down more than sitting. Use my strongly-worded quotes to get the point across, if needed.
Visit #2 (3-7 days later): Review TrA and sciatic nerve exercise. Correct swayback if present. Progress to TrA (level 2) if ready. If the job is sedentary, recommend a sit/stand workstation. Add the proper piriformis floss (not the common one that I have seen on the internet) if they have buttock pain and a positive piriformis test. Explain why hamstring stretching should be avoided.
Ask about morning pain, discuss mattress and sleeping position if needed. Add my Proactive Cat/Cow if stiffness/ lack of ROM is an issue or if the cat/cow is a routine exercise for them.
Visit #3 (one week after visit #2): Pain is usually gone or minimal by now. Add Knee Fallout if there is rotational instability. Discuss the strategy to use during sports and at the gym. Discuss exercises to avoid. Review or add TrA Level 2. Continue Level 1 as a warm-up if preferred.
Add Lumbar Multifidus if it is weak and there is mild or no scoliosis and pain has not resolved.
If there is significant thoracic kyphosis, address it by figuring out the best stretch for their back (three options).
Recommend regular exercise, discuss World Confederation for Physical Therapy guidelines if there is difficulty with ideas. If they do not love to exercise, mention that even 10 minutes straight of housework counts and they should strategize so they don’t get sore - discuss proper body mechanics. (Guidelines can be found in the course downloads.)
Visit #4 (1-2 weeks later): Reassess sciatic nerve tension - it usually improves significantly within the first 2-3 weeks. Progress to TrA Level 4 if ready, or review TrA Level 2 (I usually leave it at Level 2 if the person is retired and has no symptoms).
Discuss integration into sport and what to do if a flare-up occurs.
Visit #5 (if even needed, 2-3 weeks later): Progress to Level 5 if the person is highly motivated, has a heavy job, wants to do planks or is still experiencing pain. Must have excellent control with Level 4 to progress. If they are still in pain, review any postural habits or activities that may be triggering the pain, for example sitting on the floor or sitting too often/ too long. Review the strategy that they can use for life to prevent pain from returning.
Testimonial from a Low Back Active Treatment student: "I never focus on TrA before,.... it is hard to get the contraction... Thank you so much, appreciate your time and effort." -P.E., Physiotherapist since 2000
Youtube exercise links can be emailed to patients once they have tried the exercise in the clinic.
If you are a health or fitness pro and would like to learn how to resolve back pain quickly, check out this preview of Amy's pre-recorded online Low Back Active Treatment Course and/ or go to the Shop tab to purchase:
FREE Case Study: Lower Quadrant Active Treatment
This is a typical example of how people recover within 4-5 visits:
Visit #1
- heel slide and clam (Amy’s version), education re: heat vs. ice, and the importance of movement, can bike for 5 minutes instead of heel slide
Visit #2 (same week as Visit #1 if possible)
- review heel slide and clam
- if the weaker gluteus medius feels like it is activating at least 80% compared to the good side (on palpation), progress to walking and stairs. If not, work on it for another week.
- add the amazing foot strengthening exercise that allowed Amy to abandon all orthopaedic footwear after twenty years of dependence (in less than three weeks!)
- if pain has not subsided, educate re: the cabbage leaf wrap study
Visit #3 (one week later)
- review foot strengthening, if nothing happens, advise that there is something they can use to assist temporarily, but to keep trying for another week if possible
- add walking and stairs if not done yet. If already added, review them and add mini-squats 5-10 good-quality reps/ day and sit-to-stand.
- check ankle dorsiflexion ROM in WBing and address as needed
Visit #4 (1-2 weeks later)
- review all, if needed, add assistive device to foot strengthening if needed 1-2 x/day, and do without 1-2x/day.
- check balance and address as needed
- ask which activities still cause pain and problem-solve
- progress mini-squats to 3 sets of 10, 2-3x/wk only
- advise one minute of deep squatting/day, encourage them that one day, they may be the only 90-year-old with their original knees and hips
Visit #5 (optional, usually only needed for athletes and people with heavy jobs)
- plyometric lunges (after doing 5 minutes of cardio and mini-squats to warm up)
- progress balance and continue to address ankle ROM as needed - really stiff ankle joints may require multiple treatments to loosen up
YouTube exercise links can be emailed to patients once they have tried the exercise in the clinic.
If you are a health or fitness pro and would like to learn how to resolve lower quadrant pain quickly, check out the course preview below and/or click on the Shop tab to purchase. Low Back Active Treatment Course recommended but not required.
Visit #1
- heel slide and clam (Amy’s version), education re: heat vs. ice, and the importance of movement, can bike for 5 minutes instead of heel slide
Visit #2 (same week as Visit #1 if possible)
- review heel slide and clam
- if the weaker gluteus medius feels like it is activating at least 80% compared to the good side (on palpation), progress to walking and stairs. If not, work on it for another week.
- add the amazing foot strengthening exercise that allowed Amy to abandon all orthopaedic footwear after twenty years of dependence (in less than three weeks!)
- if pain has not subsided, educate re: the cabbage leaf wrap study
Visit #3 (one week later)
- review foot strengthening, if nothing happens, advise that there is something they can use to assist temporarily, but to keep trying for another week if possible
- add walking and stairs if not done yet. If already added, review them and add mini-squats 5-10 good-quality reps/ day and sit-to-stand.
- check ankle dorsiflexion ROM in WBing and address as needed
Visit #4 (1-2 weeks later)
- review all, if needed, add assistive device to foot strengthening if needed 1-2 x/day, and do without 1-2x/day.
- check balance and address as needed
- ask which activities still cause pain and problem-solve
- progress mini-squats to 3 sets of 10, 2-3x/wk only
- advise one minute of deep squatting/day, encourage them that one day, they may be the only 90-year-old with their original knees and hips
Visit #5 (optional, usually only needed for athletes and people with heavy jobs)
- plyometric lunges (after doing 5 minutes of cardio and mini-squats to warm up)
- progress balance and continue to address ankle ROM as needed - really stiff ankle joints may require multiple treatments to loosen up
YouTube exercise links can be emailed to patients once they have tried the exercise in the clinic.
If you are a health or fitness pro and would like to learn how to resolve lower quadrant pain quickly, check out the course preview below and/or click on the Shop tab to purchase. Low Back Active Treatment Course recommended but not required.
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