10 Tips for Primary Care Residents/ Fellows and Medical Students

Have you ever found yourself talking with Medical students or even doctors and wanted to give them some advice regarding referrals, treatments, or pathology in general. Well we definitely have been in this situation. Many medical school programs receive no formal education in Kinesiology or Biomechanics. As therapists, our scope on knowledge on regional interdependence in much greater. Specialists in Sports and Ortho Rehab (SSOR) recently came out with a post regarding 10 tips on how to educate primary care students/ residents/ fellows. 
The 10 tips are listed below, but check out the full post for in depth reading on the topic. 

1. Shoulder pain can be disguised as neck pain (and vice versa).
2a. Not all tendinopathies are the same.
2b. Eccentric exercises can be a promising intervention for certain tendinopathies.
3. Signs and symptoms of mensical tears. How to spot them during your physical exam!  
4. For people with general knee pain, address the hip abductors and external rotators.
5. Headaches can be treated by physical therapists.
6. Sciatica can be managed by postural education, core strengthening, nerve glides, and hip strengthening.
7. Carpal Tunnel isn't always just in the wrist.
8. In acute ankle sprains, give your patients an assistive device before having them walk around with a limp. 
9. In patients with low back pain or SI pain, the problem may not be in the back.
10. Modalities are misused and abused, and frankly, there is little evidence supporting them. 

These points may all seem very obvious to physical therapists, but they may not be so clear to everyone else. For example, how many times have you had a referral for low back pain when the cause of the dysfunction was not the low back at all. This is a good top 10 list, but it is not a complete list. Can you think of other beneficial tips on how to educate medical students/residents? 

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