Rehabilitation of the Overhead Athlete: A Kinetic Chain Approach - Part 1

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Webinar Title: Rehabilitation of the Overhead Athlete: A Kinetic Chain Approach - Part 1

Presenter:
April O'Connell, OTR/L, CHT, ACSM

Webinar Description:
Hand therapists are trained in treating patients from the finger to the shoulder and our basic schooling has taught the therapist how to look globally and at the athlete as a whole. This presentation will provide a comprehensive understanding of the physical demands of the overhead athlete and how to perform a total body examination based on evidenced-based practice, as well as treatment strategies based on the athlete’s occupational profile. It is imperative that each clinician treats the whole athlete and remains patient-centered rather than “spot treating.” A detailed literature review of best available evidence as well as “out of the box’ treatment techniques will be presented on including demonstration of novel, multi-joint, multi-planar Thrower’s Ten exercises that we have recently studied using surface EMG technology to demonstrate the effectiveness of these exercises. Specific hand and wrist injuries and return to sport orthotic fabrication will be discussed and cases reviewed of professional athletes.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, participants will:

  1. Understand how deficits in the lower extremities affect the upper body and conduct a comprehensive screen to evaluate the athlete’s stability and mobility for injury prevention and efficiency in performance
  2. Understand the functional role of the overhead athlete and then administer advanced therapeutic exercises mimicking the client’s occupation using multi-planar, multi-vector movements
  3. Understand specific areas of how the overhead athlete’s occupational performance can be affected by hand dysfunction
  4. Differentiate between post-operative rehabilitation protocols for hand injuries and instabilities
  5. Understand conservative and orthotic treatment algorithms for a variety of trauma diagnoses for the overhead athlete

Originally Presented: August 2025

CE Credit: 1.0 continuing education hours, or 0.10 CEUs

Pricing:
Members $35
Student Members $20
Non-Members $55
Student Non-Members $30

* The ASHT Webinar Committee conducts an audit of webinars to ensure that the content is keeping up with the latest science and research. Please note that this webinar may be updated in the future. At that time, the purchased webinar will no longer be available for view.