Foot-Ankle Tutorial Desc, Sched -03-09-1

Beverly Cusick, PT, MS, COF, President Progressive GaitWays, LLC 536 Society Drive, Telluride, Colorado 81435 New office phone: (866) 410-8062 x 302; FAX: (866) 886-7736 Email: billi@gaitways.com Foot & Ankle Development & Deformity Management with Serial Casting - Why & How A Private Tutorial in Telluride, Colorado – March 24-29, 2009 This course features a review of the development and biomechanics of the foot and ankle complex in the open and closed chain, with minimum soft tissue extensibility requirements for efficient lower extremity functional mobility. Musculoskeletal assessment procedures are reviewed in seminar and in supervised lab sessions, as the findings apply to proper documentation of casting results and a systematic approach to clinical decision-making regarding alignment and posting in casts and orthoses. Rationale for various hypoextensibility management interventions is supported by a literature review regarding muscle transformation secondary to chronic recruitment as it is currently understood. Spasticity is distinguished from tone and from soft tissue pathophysiologic adaptation, with clinical implications. Discussion includes the use of the contoured plaster footboard, the R-Wrap© orthosis, neurolytics, positioning, stretching, and serial casting. Gait kinetics principles are discussed and applied to a review of orthotic designs, including pros and cons of currently available, prefabricated and non-cast-molded orthoses. ...