In-person 2 day course plus 4 week online prep.
First review the theoretical knowledge and background learning related to manual therapy and manipulation of the cervical and thoracic spine with a 4- week online distance-learning program. The focus of the online courses are safety and theoretical preparation for the practical component. Then the participant will attend a practical, in-person course that will help them gain psycho-motor skill competency in the practice of manipulation of the cervical and thoracic spine. This course contains content that addresses the requirements (theory, practice and final evaluation) that enable participants to SEEK authorization for the spinal manipulation roster in Alberta.

References for review are provided at the beginning of the course.

The online course consists of 9 audio-power point presentations which include:
1) Vascular Risk in Cervical Manipulation and Treatment
2) Red Flags for Cervical Manipulation and Treatment
3) Introduction to Manipulation and Proposed Effects of Manipulation
4) Manipulation of the Cervical and Thoracic Spine- Efficacy
5) Cervical and Thoracic Manipulation- The Process
6) Yellow Flag Screening
7) Introduction to the Treatment-Based Classification (TBC) System of the Cervical Spine
8) Legislative Requirements for Manipulation
9) Anatomy and Pathology in the Cervical and Thoracic Spine

Second, participants will attend a weekend intensive course to gain the skills of assessment and manipulation of the Cervical and Thoracic spine. This course will focus on the clinical reasoning and motor learning required to effectively integrate manual physical therapy examination and intervention techniques into the clinical management of these individuals. Safety and screening for appropriate candidates to discuss manipulation as an option are reviewed in detail. The evidence-based assessment of the cervical/thoracic region will be illustrated and practiced by participants to help classify patients into a treatment based category. The four categories include Mobility, Directional Preference, Exercise/Endurance and Pain Control. The focus of the course will be on effective and safe assessment of patients to identify those patients who would most likely benefit from manipulation. Participants will have the opportunity to practice Cervical/Thoracic area manipulations including supine, side-lying and seated techniques. The techniques covered include but are not restricted to the manipulations listed above. Once students have been guided in the refinement of the motor strategies for manipulation, they will be asked to demonstrate competency for each manipulation covered in the course prior to having their skills checklist marked as competent. Audio-visual, demonstration, instructor guided application, peer-review feed-back and case studies will be employed to promote learning prior to assessment of competency. This course will provide 14 hours of direct contact teaching related to the skill acquisition of manipulation.

**Please use your username and password that you created to register for this course to access the online material