Working with individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) requires more than knowing expected outcomes by level — it involves understanding how to support real people as they navigate mobility, daily routines, and participation across recovery. Featuring JJ Mowder Tinny, PT, PHD, NCS, C/NDT, CSRS, CEEAA and Angela Reimer, OTD, MOT, OTR, CBIST, this course focuses on helping clinicians think through functional challenges and turn them into meaningful treatment opportunities.
This two-day interactive course emphasizes practical strategies for progressing bed mobility, transfers, wheelchair skills, and ADL performance while considering common complications, upper extremity demands, and environmental factors that influence success. Participants will explore how therapy can support areas such as bowel and bladder considerations within scope, seating and positioning, shoulder preservation, and functional problem solving.
Through video analysis, case discussions, and hands-on lab sessions, clinicians will practice designing interventions that are adaptable across settings and levels of injury. Pre-recorded modules will provide a brief review of common complications — including autonomic dysreflexia, thermoregulation, heterotopic ossification, and other medical considerations — allowing in-person time to focus on application, discussion, and clinical reasoning.
Upon completion, participants will be able to:
- Analyze functional movement and participation challenges across levels of spinal cord injury to guide intervention planning.
- Design progressive treatment strategies for bed mobility, transfers, and floor recovery that promote efficiency and safety.
- Apply principles of wheelchair skill progression to improve mobility and participation.
- Integrate ADL training strategies and environmental modifications to support independence across settings.
- Describe the role of rehabilitation professionals in supporting bowel and bladder management within scope of practice.
- Identify common complications (e.g., autonomic dysreflexia, thermoregulation issues, heterotopic ossification) and adjust treatment accordingly.
- Develop strategies to protect the upper extremities and prevent shoulder overuse during functional tasks.
- Collaborate across disciplines to address functional goals and optimize patient outcomes.
- Use case-based reasoning to adapt interventions to individual patient presentations and clinical environments.
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