Activator Methods Upper Extremities

The instrument-assisted manipulative treatment (IAMT) is taught together with the limitations of the method and the current evidence available for this therapeutical approach. The advanced courses will help the clinician to step away from a basic protocol to approach specific cases with clinical reasoning and understanding the physics of the instruments and its biomechanical advantages and contra-indications.

The instructor is Ricardo Fujikawa, MD, DC, MSc; who is a licensed physician in Spain and a fully qualified chiropractor. He holds the instructor certification with the Activator Methods International, Phoenix (AZ). He has 20 years of experience in medical education, being a former faculty member at the Palmer College of Chiropractic (USA), Feevale University (Brasil), RCU Maria Cristina (Spain), and he is current an part-time faculty at the Southern California University of Health Sciences (USA), and a Senior Lecturer at the McTimoney College of Chiropractic – Madrid Campus. He was a PhD student at the Biomechanics Department of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and is involved in Basic Science Research with the Activator instrument and publishing as a co-author of articles related to Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis response to IAMT.

Each course is composed of 12 hours of instruction, divided into 40% lecture and 60% practice, distributed in a one-and-a-half day format. Didactical material will be distributed to the participants, with instruction and references.

The Upper Extremities course is part of the next steps in learning the Activator Methods Technique. It includes a biomechanical review of the upper extremities, MS diagnose tips, and more advanced tests and adjustments for the shoulders and related structures, as well as the elbows, wrists and hands.

The new information you will learn through this courseware will help you treat both acute and chronic conditions that are not covered as completely in the Basic Scan Protocol. Once you complete this course and are currently Activator Proficiency Rate, you become eligible to become Activator Advanced Proficiency Rated.

Expected Outcomes:

• Understanding of the mechanisms of Instrument-Assisted-Manipulative-Treatment using the Activator.
• Understanding of the possible mechanisms involved in the response to the treatment from a biomedical perspective.
• Knowledge of clinical clues leading to the diagnose of the most common MS conditions of the upper extremity articulation dysfunctions (shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand, and associated structures)
• Ability to perform safely IAST using the Activator instrument.

Recommended Reference Text:

Fuhr A. The Activator Method. 2nd ed. St Louis:Mosby/Elsevier; 2008

Programme

Saturday

Core Essentials

9:00 am The Activator Method Analytical Technique | Leg Testing Workshop

10:00 am The Activator Adjusting Instrument Protocol | Landmarks Workshop

The Upper Extremity

11:00 am                     The Shoulder and Related Structures

11:30 – 12:00 am        Coffee Break

12:00 am                     The Shoulder and Related Structures

1:00 pm                       The Elbow

2:00 – 3:00 pm            Lunch Break

3:00 pm                       The Wrist

4:00 pm                       The Hand

5:00 pm                       Review

6:30 pm                       End of Session

Sunday

9:30 am                       Breakfast

10:00 am                     Integrating Extremity Evaluation, Testing and Treatment

11:00 am                     Workshop

12:00 pm                     Workshop

1:00 pm                       Clinical Grand Rounds and Proficiency Testing