Course Description:

Why the focus on treating osteoarthritis of the knee? Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most rapidly growing conditions worldwide with knee osteoarthritis (knee OA) being one of the most prevalent forms. Patients with knee OA have a wide variety of presentations making it a disorder that is best addressed with strong clinical reasoning and high differential diagnosis skills. Despite a compelling body of literature for physical therapy directed exercise programs and growing evidence that manual therapy combined with exercise increases the level of symptom relief and functional benefit, most patients do not receive physical therapy treatment prior to total joint replacement. There is also a concerning lack of consistency in physical therapy treatment approaches with many physical therapists still reaching for their favorite modalities.

This course will help the learner make accurate judgments on the patient with knee OA's likely tolerance for examination and treatment while identifying key impairments to strength, range of motion, flexibility, gait, and balance that can be addressed with manual therapy and exercise. This clinical reasoning-based process facilitates highly focused treatment strategies that are typically well tolerated by the patient.

Although patients with knee OA can be challenging to treat, focusing on the concepts presented in this course will enhance your ability to provide well-tolerated treatment strategies that are consistent with the best research evidence, and that consistently produce highly satisfying outcomes for both the patient and the treating physical therapist.