AzPTA Annual Fall Conference

A couple weeks ago, I attended the Arizona Physical Therapy Association Annual Fall Conference. After viewing the courses offered, I have to admit I was not as eager as I normally am for conferences like this. The courses included an orthopaedic course on the hip/groin/pelvis, anatomy cadaver lab, aquatic therapy course, and a professional track. The anatomy course would have been very interesting as we can never truly appreciate what we learn in the lab at the beginning of PT school. The opportunity to review the anatomy of the human body after being exposed to all of our orthopaedic courses could be extremely beneficial. However, I felt it would be more appropriate to attend the orthopaedic course to advance my knowledge in the area.

Prior to this conference, I had only attended the National Student Conclave and Combined Sections Meetings, so the bar was set relatively high in my mind. I was pretty surprised there weren't more people at the conference. The difference between courses offered at CSM and this conference was pretty significant, which explained my initial hesitance in going.

I actually couldn't have been happier with the ortho course. The instructor basically broke down the diagnosis and treatment of everything hip/groin/pelvis related. Additionally, he used diagnostic ultrasound imaging to show which muscles were being used with variations of exercises. This can be extremely beneficial for educating patients on proper motor control. Probably the most interesting component of the lecture, however, was the discussion of the "rotator cuff" of the hip. These muscles include: iliacus, gluteus minimus, lower gluteus maximus, and deep rotators of the hip. The gluteus medius, while important, was compared to the deltoid of the shoulder. Basically, we should be establishing control of the core and hip "rotator cuff" prior to focusing on the larger muscles.

Overall, I learned quite a bit from the course. Even though this conference wasn't the same as those at the national level, the quality of courses was outstanding. I recommend taking a closer look to consider attending some conferences in your respective states. Chances are you will find a course where you will learn some very interesting concepts.