Rehabilitative Tai Chi for Knee and Lower Extremity Pain and Dysfunction

The Osteoarthritis (OA) Action Alliance reports that 32.5 million Americans experience osteoarthritis with total financial burdens reaching $136 billion annually. Lower extremity surgeries including hip and knee joint replacements, ACL, and arthroscopies comprise the majority of orthopedic surgical cases. With regard to knee osteoarthritis, studies have revealed that conservative approaches are often equally, if not more, effective than surgical interventions. In addition, Tai Chi is equally effective as physical therapy in alleviating knee pain due to OA. Current research also reveals the broadineffectiveness of long-term pharmaceutical approaches and strongly suggests that successfully treating the multifactorial nature of chronic osteoarthritis pain requires an integrative, holistic approach.

Tai Chi is a widely recognized mind-body modality and non-pharmacological approach to treating chronic pain conditions. This highly insightful 2-hour course has been designed to outline the scientific and physiologic basis of key Rehabilitative Tai Chi components, instruct simple Tai Chi practices shown to be effective in rehabilitating knee pain and dysfunction, and review the evidence base for validatingRehabilitative Tai Chi in the treatment of patients dealing with chronic knee and lower extremity pain.

Highlights

• Practice 8 of the most important, easy-to-use Rehabilitative Tai Chi strategies that can be applied immediately in patient care
• Effectively validate the evidence-based benefits of Tai Chi in knee rehabilitation to even the most resistant patients and colleagues

Target Audience: Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Athletic Trainers