Hands-on Orthotics - Houston, TX
Date: September 27-28, 2025
Time: 8 am – 5:00 pm each day
Location:
Houston Methodist Hospital
6565 Fannin Street
Dunn Tower Rio Grande Conference Room (on first floor)
Houston, TX 77030
Instructors:
Cara Smith, PT, DPT, CHT, MSHA
Emily Skoza Brackenridge, MS, OTR/L, CHT
Course Description:
Looking to improve your orthotic fabrication skills?
Don't miss this special two-day Hands-on Orthotics workshop!
This in-person regional course is open to any skill level from the novice to those with experience who would like a refresher (Basic, Intermediate & Advanced). The course is lab intensive, but will also include lecture to take your orthotic fabrication expertise to the next level.
Orthoses fabricated will range from static to static progressive and incorporate treatment protocols for post-surgical treatment commonly seen in outpatient and inpatient clinics. Instructors will be available throughout the course to guide and assist you with this “hands-on” experience.
The intended audience for this course is OTs, OTAs, PTs & PTAs.
Course Objectives:
- To understand anatomical precautions when fabricating static, static progressive, and dynamic orthoses
- To understand tissue healing in reference to implementing an orthosis into patient care and understanding what factors can negatively influence the healing process
- To understand the mechanical principles pertaining to the fabrication of orthoses
- To state what equipment and materials are essential to the process of orthosis fabrication
- To be able to fabricate orthoses using various mediums including thermoplastic material, neoprene, casting material and elastic taping
Orthoses To Be Fabricated: (* tentative - subject to change)
- Dorsal wrist orthosis
- Ulnar gutter orthosis
- Hand-based CMC boost orthosis
- Volar thumb spica
- Dorsal block orthosis for flexor tendon laceration
- Hand orthosis after FPL laceration
- Static progressive MP flexion orthosis for the stiff hand
- Dorsal block casting for mobilization
- MP block cast for PIP/DIP flexion
- Radial nerve orthosis
- Digit orthoses including mallet, figure 8, hand-based ulnar nerve
- Low profile positioning orthosis for the arthritic thumb
- Static progressive elbow extension orthosis
- Static progressive forearm rotation orthosis
- Orthosis s/p MCP joint replacement
- Fabricating a neoprene wrist wrap
Registration Fee:
Members $450
Non-Members $560
Continuing Education Units (Occupational Therapists & Athletic Trainers)
The course has been approved for 16 contact hours, or 1.6 CEUS, from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the Board of Certification of Certified Athletic Trainers (BOC-ATC).
Continuing Education Hours (Physical Therapists)
The course is pending approval for 16 Continuing Education Hours from the APTA Texas.
Hotel Information - Learn More/Book Your Room!
A hotel room block will be made available shortly!
Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Limited enrollment is planned to ensure quality of course and ample instructor-participant attention. Cancellation of registration up to two weeks prior to course date will result in a refund minus a $50 cancellation fee. THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS AFTER THIS ESTABLISHED DEADLINE. It is the responsibility of the registrant to notify ASHT of cancellation in writing or by email to education@asht.org. Refunds will be issued within 30 days of notification. In the unlikely event that a course is canceled, ASHT will provide full refund of the registration fee only.
All grievances may be directed to the ASHT Education Division by sending an email to education@asht.org.
For further information or questions regarding this course, contact education@asht.org.
Cara graduated from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center with a Master of Physical Therapy in 2007. She completed the Evelyn J. Mackin Hand Therapy Fellowship in 2010 and became a Certified Hand Therapist in 2013. In 2020, she earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Arcadia University.
Cara is the Hand Therapy Program Coordinator at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The majority of her clinical practice has been in pediatric orthopedics, working alongside orthopedic surgeons in multidisciplinary clinics taking care of children with congenital and acquired conditions, as well as traumatic injuries.
Cara is a member of the ASHT Education Division and is a co-host of ASHT's popular bi-weekly podcast entitled "Hands In Motion."