Evidence-Based Management of Upper Extremity Injuries Print CE Course

Course components are delivered online or in print:

• 21 evidence-based practice articles from Sports Medicine Research

• 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. Many new treatment strategies and rehabilitation techniques are being developed and require randomized controlled trials for determining effectiveness. Health care providers should acknowledge that patients with upper extremity injuries have a large range of treatment options that are thought to improve outcomes; however, not all are truly effective. Practitioners may consider enhancing neuromuscular rehabilitation by using EMG biofeedback, PRP or corticosteroid injections, and kinesiotape (when available).

This continuing education course provides a series of 21 research articles regarding upper extremity injuries with the goal of demonstrating how athletic trainers and therapists can apply the information from existing studies to their own practice. The articles are followed by an exam containing 105 questions. Upon passing the exam, learners may print out and submit a certificate for continuing education credits. Certified athletic trainers completing this course may earn continuing education units to apply toward the required evidence-based practice category to maintain their certification.

Evidence-Based Management of Upper Extremity Injuries CE 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. Using the current evidence regarding management of upper extremity injuries, readers will be able to optimize their rehabilitation for upper extremity injuries and better educate and advise patients about various treatment options.

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 (www.sportsmedres.org). Thomas has numerous peer-reviewed publications and abstracts on shoulder adaptations resulting from overhead throwing and the basic science of rotator cuff injury and healing. He also has given several invited lectures throughout the United States on overhead throwing.