Understanding our Connective Tissue: The Lower Limb
Course
In Edinburgh
Description
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Type
Workshop
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Location
Edinburgh (Scotland)
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Duration
2 Days
Clearer understanding of: The functional anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder girdle. The structure of connective tissue, its classification, and its role in normal musculo-skeletal function. How this system is damaged by trauma, surgery, overuse, or habit, and ultimately the body's postural responses with functional adjustments leading to later complaints even in non-related areas of the body. How to evaluate the connective tissue/fascial system. How all the above guides you, the therapist, through the most appropriate personalized treatment strategy for each client. Suitable for: All bodyworkers including massage therapists, sports therapists, physiotherapists and osteopaths
Facilities
Location
Start date
Start date
About this course
Background in bodywork
Reviews
Teachers and trainers (1)
Willie Fourie
Presenter
Willie is a registered physiotherapist with more than thirty years of clinical experience in the treatment of musculo-skeletal conditions. This includes sports physiotherapy on provincial and international level, trauma rehabilitation in the mining industry, and general private practice. His private practice is situated in Roodepoort (Western Greater Johannesburg Council), South Africa
Course programme
PROGRAMME: Our course goal will be to share with you how normal day-to-day function is changed by interference with the fascial and connective tissue anatomy. By understanding how various systems interlink to determine function, we can explore new and integrated treatment strategies as a tool in relieving the distress of the painful lower limb
After these two-day workshops, participants should have a clearer understanding of:
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The functional anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder girdle
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The structure of connective tissue, its classification, and its role in normal musculo-skeletal function
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How this system is damaged by trauma, surgery, overuse, or habit, and ultimately the body’s postural responses with functional adjustments leading to later complaints – even in non-related areas of the body
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How to evaluate the connective tissue/fascial system
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How all the above guides you, the therapist, through the most appropriate personalized treatment strategy for every individual client
Our courses will be an intense mix of theory and practical work, and, therefore, we limit the number of participants to maximum 18 per course.
ELEMENTS AND SUBJECTS COVERED DURING COURSES
PART 1
1. BODY DESIGN:
The principle that all structures are involved in movement quality is expanded on. Seeing the body as a “tensegrity” structure using self-assembly into a hierarchy of systems from microscopic to macroscopic, full system pre-stress and minimum pathway (geodesic) principles for musculoskeletal function are explained. This expands our traditional view of linear biomechanics in explaining human movement into a more realistic view of the body functioning as a non-linear system where small changes can produce a disproportionately large output.
2. CONNECTIVE TISSUE:
One of the main aims of the course is to bring connective tissue as a largely microscopic subject taught as a basic science in the introduction to anatomy into the macroscopic domain where it becomes a living tissue that has been described as our “organ of form” that can be assessed, moved and manipulated. In this section we look at
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The structure of connective tissue
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The classification of connective tissue with the emphasis on connective tissue proper (this includes tendons, ligaments, fasciae and aponeurosis)
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Vessels and nerves of connective tissue where it’s role in fluid transfer within the extracellular matrix and its role in proprioception and sensation are highlighted
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Connective tissue architecture. In this we highlight design differences on a macroscopic level in different parts of the body with special reference to function and movement quality. Different fascial layers encountered therapeutically i.e. skin/epidermis, superficial fascia/hypodermis, deep fascia and myofascia (epi-, per-, and endomysium) are explained and evaluated within their functionally important contributions to movement
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Functions and roles of connective tissue with the emphasis on the fascial components of the connective tissue
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Physiological changes that occur in tissue (especially connective tissue) during injury, immobilization and remobilization. Connective tissue is both plastic andmalleable. The wound healing process is explained and how tissue responds to manual therapy during all stages of healing. The role of fibroblasts and the laydown of collagen during healing and immobilization are highlighted. Finally, how manual therapeutic interventions contribute to the repair and restoration of connective tissue and fasciae are explained
3. CONTRIBUTORS TO “PROBLEM JOINTS”:
Factors contributing to changes in the movement patterns and movement quality of joints and limbs are discussed. These factors could be muscle imbalances, surgery or trauma. We also explore how a “local” tissue dysfunction can contribute to a “global” body response. How a local loss of tissue gliding and mobility through thickening or scarring changes movement patterns elsewhere in the musculoskeletal system is discussed.
4. MANUAL ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE:
Assessment and grading of the depth of touch and palpation of tissue are practically demonstrated and practiced. Palpation and assessment are carefully performed from the least invasive level on the superficial structures – skin and superficial fascia, to the deeper fascia/myofascia and myofascia/periosteum layers. These layers are:
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Evaluation of the skin. Its quality of movement and mobility, contour of the body part, areas of superficial changes and temperature are evaluated
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Mobility of the skin as a unit on the superficial fascia, its mobility and gliding quality are evaluated
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The deep fascia and myofascia of the superficial layers of muscles are evaluated
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Deep fascial relationships to other deep fasciae and myofascia on bone interfaces are evaluated. We palpate for tissue mobility, flexibility and freedom of tissue glide. We are teaching to identify areas of compromised tissue glide, tissue hypomobility and inflexibility, as well as to identify the position and direction of tightness
This concludes part 1 where connective tissue as a therapeutically responsive tissue is introduced.
PART 2 of the course is more area or joint specific.
The emphasis is on basic functional anatomy of the part under discussion, the detailed biomechanics of the part or joint; and how soft tissue changes could potentially change normal joint biomechanics, leading to pathology, pain or dysfunction.
In “The Lower Limb” module, soft tissue tightness and scarring contributions to the development of lumbar spine, hip and knee dysfunction are investigated.
Understanding our Connective Tissue: The Lower Limb