It’s All In Your Brain – Clinical Use of Graded Motor Imagery Course

On October 13 & 14, 2012 Arm More Therapy will be sponsoring;

“It’s All in Your Brain”

“The Clinical Use of Graded Motor Imagery for Rewiring the Brain.”

Treatment for:

• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Neurological conditions (stroke, dystonia)
• Phantom limb pain
• Repetitive strain injuries (thoracic outlet syndrome)

This course is designed for therapists who are treating clients with musculoskeletal issues, neurological issues, and post stroke.

Course Description

Graded Motor Imagery is an emerging therapeutic strategy for treating patients. It integrates established principles of graded exposure and response prevention with the current theories in the neuroscience of pain andneuroplasticity. Graded Motor Imagery consists of laterality training, imagery and mirror therapy. This lecture will present a model to understand the role of the brain and ways to use a “top-down” treatment program to treat the changes that occur in the brain. This lecture is appropriate for therapists treating orthopedic as well as neurological consequences of injury.

Speaker Bio

Susan W. Stralka, PT, DPT, MS, ACHE is a licensed physical therapist with over many years of experience treating both musculoskeletal and neurovascular consequences of injury. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Susan earned an AdvancedMaster’s in Musculoskeletal Disorders and a DPT from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee. She has a strongclinical background in orthopedics as well as mirror therapy and has presented nationally and internationally in upper and lower extremity dysfunction and pain management. Susan has written articles on a wide variety of topics related to physical therapy for many national publications and health journals. Her most recent publications are “Graded Motor Imagery” in the Journal of Hand Therapy and a chapter on “Thoracic Outlet Syndrome” in the book entitled Neck and Arm Pain Syndromes.

Ms. Stralka is very active in the community with the Germantown Chamber, Germantown Rotary Club and Germantown Civitan Club as well as with many othercivic organizations. She has held numerous state and national offices with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Arthritis Association. In 2009, Susan was recognized by the Arthritis Association asVolunteer of the Year. With the goal of providing the best rehabilitative care to patients, Stralka continually recruits and supports innovative clinical programs to benefit future patients.
Workshop participants will have the option to participate in an anonymous survey-based study on how therapists incorporate new knowledge and skillsgained from continuing education into their daily practice. A short presentation by Tara Packham will focus on complex regional pain syndrome andthe related researched based study.