2024 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ANNUAL CONFERENCE & PT EXPO

Participants will learn about the resources of the National Council on Aging and other evidence based community organizations, to specifically understand how these resources can improve aging adults health outcomes in positive ways. The session will begin broadly discussing the evidence from a recent publication reporting on the minimal use of such community resources followed by a description of each program’s intent. Next, a local description of available community organizations will assist physical therapists (PTs) in making this important step of awareness within their geographical community. The session continues by sharing an algorithm and visual timeline for PTs to help differentiate and consolidate the information. This information will then be applied to two uniquely different case studies to highlight the practical application of a community based focus and the individual. The session concludes with a question and answer to elevate the spirit of practicing at the highest scope for the profession.

The purpose of this session is to teach physical therapists strategies to prevent falls in their patients' lives through collaboration with occupational therapy professionals. Taking a multi discipline, team-oriented approach, it allows for more robust interventions and improved clinical outcomes. Examples of successful cooperative efforts in multiple settings will be shared including skilled nursing, home health and mobile outpatient. PTs will hopefully walk away from this session feeling empowered with ideas of how they can interface with OT to maximize results for patients.

This presentation offers a comprehensive look at innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to rehabilitation for individuals with various neurological injuries. The session focuses on evidence-based methods for assessing fall risk from a cognitive perspective and implementing dual-tasking techniques that engage both cognitive and motor functions simultaneously. Drawing from over two decades of clinical experience, the presenters will also share their expertise in developing and implementing a JCAHO-certified brain injury program.

Attendees will gain insights into:
1. The neuroscience of cognitive processing (attention, types of memory, executive functioning: self-awareness/monitoring,
emotional/ behavioral/cognitive self-control) and the impact of medications
2. Effective cognitive and motor dual-tasking methods for rehabilitation with specific guidelines on their implementation
3.Strategies and procedures for developing a JCAHO-certified brain injury program
4.Techniques for preventing harm to patients, families, and staff
5.Best practices for patient management from admission to discharge

The presentation will combine lecture format with interactive role-playing activities, promoting audience engagement and practical application of concepts. Multiple case studies/examples will be presented and discussed for deeper insights and understanding.

This session is intended to increase the acute care therapist's confidence in differential diagnosis of acute vestibular disorders most commonly seen within the Emergency Department, promote understanding of the indications and contraindications for acute vestibular intervention within this setting, and to provide guidance for acute and post-acute specialist referrals and discharge recommendations. The presentation will be delivered in a lecture-only format, with emphasis placed on review of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

This session will begin with recent evidence about primary sensory influences on head and body verticality, sensory selection for differing balance requirements in everyday life, and problems of single system sensory dependence. There will be an interactive discussion focused on examinations and effective interventions for specific problems, discussion of how to sequence and progress visual, vestibular (particularly otolithic), somatosensory and proprioceptive interventions, especially those relating to verticality perception. Interventions for head righting through cervical proprioceptors and ankle proprioception retraining will be included. Interventions will progress from single system treatments to exercises integrating sensory input. The presentation is based on research of successful interventions for people with Mal de Debarquement, a problem of sensory integration, reweighting and likely sensory inhibition. Techniques for retraining sensory selection, integration and reweighting are applicable to people with neurologic problems including TBI, CVA, MS, and dystonia.

This presentation will provide attendees with evidence-based understanding and background knowledge of normal trunk stability, abnormal trunk stabilization within the neurologic population, and motor priming concepts. Then the presentation will lead more into clinical-based methods specifically for trunk stabilization motor priming as a way to treat abnormal balance and walking with the goal such that the attendees are able to directly carryover treatment ideas into their own clinical practice.

Medically complex and frail patients are rapidly rising because of an aging population with chronic conditions, compounded by COVID-19. Healthcare providers need evidence-based strategies that can restore balance and mobility safely and efficiently while reducing fall risk. Join us to explore why building joint mobility and stability at ankles and feet is the foundation to accelerating functional outcomes like gait speed and the ability to perform activities of daily living. Proprioceptive training that includes range of motion and strengthening exercises will be reviewed and practiced during this interactive lecture.

This interactive session will expose participants to an innovative resource that supports clinical reasoning related to dizziness as a health condition. While the tool is responsive on all devices, it is recommended that participants bring a tablet or laptop. A detailed case interview will provide a framework for participants to engage in clinical reasoning independently and in small group discussion using DizzyDx. Participants will create a case file and navigate within the app to consider symptoms endorsed in the interview and the common clinical patterns associated with the symptoms described.

Participants will be prompted to discuss aspects of clinical decision making and develop a list of hypothesized impairments within DizzyDx. This can be accomplished individually while engaging in active discussion and collegial debate in small groups. The presenter will facilitate pacing of the group to promote time management and selection of the clinical tests required to rule in and out various impairments relative to the case presentation. Navigation through DizzyDx will reveal supporting evidence, critical thinking prompts, video tutorials, and a confidence interval to help prioritize impairments.

At the end of the session the case summary will be saved into the user's personal DizzyDx profile. Participants will be provided clinical test results and outcomes from the case presented. Follow up discussion with Q and A will encourage feedback related to educational technology and clinical decision support tool development for rehabilitation providers.