Men’s Health Physical Therapy - Hybrid

The 1+2-day Men’s Health Physical Therapy hybrid online and in-person course will focus on assessing and managing the Men's Health PT patient. The course includes a 1-day online section that students must complete before the course's live section. The Men's Health PT course will include a detailed history-taking of the complex conditions men with pelvic dysfunction present with. Conditions that will be introduced and focused on will be male pelvic pain, male athletic pelvic pain, hard flaccid syndrome, post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence, and post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction. This course will also address the challenges of setting up or building a men's health PT service.

Course Content

• Male pelvic floor anatomy, function, and dysfunction

• Developing detailed history-taking skills with these complex conditions

• Exploring the complex psychological, emotional, cognitive, social & behavioral aspects of the conditions these men present with

• Internal examination in men’s health physiotherapy

• Assessment & management of male pelvic pain

• Introducing the EZ Magic therapeutic device and its role in the management of pelvic pain and building self-efficacy

• Role of musculoskeletal & exercise-based physiotherapy in the male pelvic pain patient to include athletic pelvic pain; Bridging the musculoskeletal/orthopedic, sports & pelvic health gap

• Role of trans-abdominal ultrasound scanning and its use in the over or under-active male pelvic floor

• Introduction to the management of pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary incontinence in a post-prostate cancer surgery patient

• Introduction to post-prostatectomy erectile dysfunction

• How do develop a Men’s Health Physiotherapy service & role: an expanding role for physiotherapists and other healthcare providers

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to

• Describe the anatomy and function of at least three key pelvic floor muscles and two key hip muscles involved in the etiology of male pelvic pain

• Demonstrate the use of four validated questionnaires for the assessment of the male pelvic pain patient and the post-prostatectomy patient

• Describe six key components of the subjective assessment of both the male pelvic pain patient and the post-prostatectomy patient

• Perform a battery of five validated and reliable tests on the pelvic girdle for pain provocation in the male pelvic pain patient

• Perform an internal examination assessment method for pelvic floor evaluation and an external assessment method

• Compare and contrast internal and external methods of assessing the male pelvic floor in both male pelvic pain and post-prostatectomy patients

• Demonstrate a minimum of two validated objective tests for assessing the fast and slow twitch activity of the male pelvic floor

• Describe a minimum of five key concepts in the management of male pelvic pain

• Describe a minimum of five key concepts in the management of post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction

• Describe 4 key strategies in developing a men’s health physiotherapy service

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Note: The actual times may vary with each program at the discretion of the instructors. Refreshments are provided; meals are on your own.

Day 1 - Online

Lecture 1 (45 minutes): Scope of Men's Health Physiotherapy
Lecture 2 (45 minutes): Male pelvic pain
Lecture 3 (45 minutes): Management of male pelvic pain
Lecture 4 (45 minutes): Introduction to the post-prostatectomy prostate cancer patient
Lecture 5 (45 minutes): Management of the post-prostatectomy prostate cancer patient.
Lecture 6 (45 minutes): Athletic Pelvic Pain and Dysfunction: Cycling-related pudendal patients to the Weekend warrior
Lecture 7 (45 minutes): Hard Flaccid Syndrome and younger erectile dysfunction: An emerging area of physiotherapy practice

Day 2 - Live

08:30 – 09:00 Registration
09:00 – 09:45 History-taking in the male pelvic health patient 
09:45 – 10:45 Key musculoskeletal examination components of male pelvic pain
10:45 – 11:00 Questions & Answers
11:00 – 12:30 Male pelvic floor examination: Assessment and mapping of internal pelvic floor anatomy (Practical)
12:30 – 01:30 Lunch
01:30 – 03:00 Management of male pelvic pain: Musculoskeletal approaches & exercise (Practical)
03:00 – 04:00 Ultrasound imaging in the Rehab of male pelvic health patients: From pelvic pain to post-prostatectomy rehab 
04:00 – 05:00 How to develop a Men's Health Physio service: An expanding role in (physio)therapy

Day 3 - Live

08:30 – 0900 Registration
09:00 – 10:30 Post prostatectomy rehab: Urinary incontinence & erectile dysfunction
10:30 – 10:45 Questions & Answers
10:45 – 11:45 Internal pelvic floor treatment strategies for male pelvic pain (Practical)
11:45 – 12:30 Use of the EZ-Magic in the management of male pelvic pain
12:30 – 01:00 Moving forwards in male pelvic health physiotherapy

Physical therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Chiropractors

The course is designed for male and female PTs, OTs, and chiropractors, who want to develop/update their interest in Men’s Health PT, including those with a women’s health, musculoskeletal/orthopedic, or sports background. The course will equip you to start working with male pelvic patients and to develop a new role or service. Gerard has a strong track record of teaching mixed groups of physical therapists and other clinicians and also those who are new to either male pelvic health or pelvic health PT/OT.

This course has been approved by the Maryland State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners for 1.625 CEUs." _16.25_ contact hours

NOTE: Many states, such as Connecticut, Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin, among many others, accept the CEUs approved by the Maryland Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.

If you are not sure about another state, check out your state board's website and look for language like (from South Carolina - https://www.llr.sc.gov/pt/ce.aspx): 

At least fifteen (15) of the required thirty (30) contact hours shall be from Certified Activities. Certified Activities include [...] attendance at conferences and completion of continuing competency activities provided by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), South Carolina Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association (SCAPTA), other chapters and sections of the APTA, as well as other state boards of physical therapy. 

Dry Needling for Pelvic Pain

Manual Trigger Point Therapy 1

Exergaming – An Innovative Pain Management Approach