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An Introduction to Scapulothoracic Assessment

An Introduction to Scapulothoracic Assessment

An Introduction to Scapulothoracic Assessment

May 12, 2022 - 12:30 (EDT)
1 hour 15 minutes

Overview:

Clinicians see them every day. Patients with a chronic “shoulder” problem.  Often, these are very difficult patients to treat because they struggle with perplexing symptoms and no specific diagnosis has been confirmed.

Perhaps some of these “mysterious” shoulder patients are struggling with a problem that is not really a shoulder problem…

Because the scapulothoracic region remains one of the most complex and poorly understood joints of the body, we often overlook it when performing musculoskeletal assessment of the neck and or shoulder.

There is currently no standardized assessment tool that can direct us to a useful diagnosis in this region, and only the most extreme scapular deformities are seen and recognized as “scapular winging”.

Janet Delorme had worked as an orthopedic manual and manipulative therapist for over thirty years, but it was her personal experience with a scapulothoracic injury ten years ago, that has led her to develop a simple, three step assessment algorithm that can be used along with any standardized shoulder and or neck assessment.

 

Learning Objectives:

In this introductory webinar, Janet examines the current “shoulder assessment” process, and she provides insight as to WHY scapulothoracic conditions are not currently being recognized.

She hopes that by watching this introductory webinar, clinicians will:

  1. Start to learn how to recognize a patient with a scapulothoracic condition.

  2. Understand the important role of the ARM ATTACHMENT MECHANISM and why it needs to be assessed independently – it is not “the shoulder”.

  3. Understand scapular mechanics – one of many pieces of “knowledge” necessary for ANY clinician who wants to learn these three simple steps. The three steps are simple but understanding the “backstory” or background information leading up to the assessment is essential. Scapular mechanics is an important first step.
The instructors
Janet Delorme
BScPT, Former Clinic Owner

Janet Delorme graduated with a Bsc.PT from Queens University in 1981.

During her 30+ years of full-time practice, Janet specialized in Orthopaedics as an Advanced Manual and Manipulative Therapist and in Acupuncture as an Instructor/Facilitator at CAFCI. She was also well versed in many exercise therapies including Pilates Mat and Reformer.

Janet was an owner/partner at the Kenora Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre until 2012 when an unusual shoulder injury ended her practice as a manual/manipulative physiotherapist.

Since 2012, Janet has been actively researching and writing. She has written and published five papers and two books on scapulothoracic assessment and treatment.

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