Professor Shirley Sahrmann (PT, PhD) outlines the Movement System Impairment Approach

“Physical Therapists are the best suited clinicians to assess and treat the movement system” says Washington University (School of Medicine in St. Louis) Department of Physical Therapy Professor Shirley Sahrmann. Physical therapist and Assistant Professor, Dr Sylvia Czuppon (@czuppons), asks the questions. Timeline 0:30 mins - What differentiates elite athletes’ movement patterns from that of ‘normal’ people and of those with abnormalities? 2:00 mins - Why physical therapists are best suited to keeping the movement system functioning optimally 3:08m - The concepts of relative stiffness, relative flexibility – Professor Sahrmann’s Movement System Impairment approach 4:30m - How to perform muscle length assessment 5:45m - The spring-like behavior of muscles – a key contributor to abnormal movement patterns 6:40m - Hypertrophy of muscles increasing the stiffness of muscles and thus increasing passive stiffness: “It’s not just about muscle shortness” 8:00m - The role of microinstability and abnormal accessory movements contributing to pain. Practical examples including a case of tight Tensor Fascia Lata illustrating the concept that the body takes the path of least resistance 10:30m - Clinical reasoning in a patient with groin pain. Are there abnormal accessory movements? 13:00m - Practical tips on the assessment of a patient with FAI – femoroacetabular impingement 14:30m - Common musculoskeletal exam errors by young clinicians – what NOT to do 16:00m - The difference between the novice and expert in movement pattern examination 18:00m - Physical therapists as lifespan practitioners – and movement is critical to health across the lifespan. Physical therapists – optimising movement to enhance the life experience 19:00m - A call for physical therapists to “take back exercise”. Of course this is much more powerful than passive therapies Other links Professor Sahrmann’s Movement System Impairment Syndromes Courses: http://ow.ly/SFnWl Professor Gwen Jull on managing neck pain - http://ow.ly/SFooy Professor Paul Hodges on the balance between mobility and stability – http://ow.ly/S4UKE Please feel free to suggest links via @BJSM_BMJ or email karim.khan@ubc.ca

The Movement System Impairment (MSI) syndromes were developed by Shirley Sahrmann, PT PhD and her colleagues at Washington University Program in Physical Therapy. These syndromes are described in her books, Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes and Movement System Impairment Syndromes of the Extremities, Cervical and Thoracic Spine.