Continuing Education Courses > Pelvic Floor Level 1 Satellite Lab Course > Pelvic Floor Level 1 Satellite Lab Course - October 3rd-4th, 2020 > Canton, OH - October 3-4, 2020
Experience Level: Beginner
Contact Hours: 23.75 hours
This is a satellite offering of our course, Pelvic Floor Level 1. A satellite means that participants will be gathering in a given location and watching the instructor present remotely on the same screen. During labs, participants will pair up and be guided by the on-site lab assistants at the satellite course location.
This continuing education course is comprised of 10 hours of prerecorded lectures followed by 14 hours of live, interactive remote learning which will be completed by groups meeting at a specific satellite location OR self hosted location. The instructor will be presenting to all satellites from a remote location via Zoom. Participants in this event will meet in person to watch the Zoom presentation in the same location and participate in labs together, with the instructor guiding remotely. It is expected that participants will only register for satellites in which they are within driving distance, and adhere to all state and local COVID guidelines, including wearing a mask at all times during the course.
This course was designed to provide a thorough introduction to female pelvic floor function, dysfunction and treatment interventions. This course is geared to the therapist who wants to synthesize the information and apply it to individual treatment programs for urinary incontinence or the musculoskeletal components of urogynecologic pain syndromes such as chronic pelvic pain (CPP), vulvar pain, and interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS). This continuing education seminar teaches evaluation and treatment interventions by instructional assessment of the pelvic floor muscles with internal vaginal examination and SEMG biofeedback assessment. The information is immediately applicable to clinical practice.
Presentation of evidence-based evaluation and treatment techniques will be emphasized. Outcome measures and quality of life questionnaires will be presented for both urinary incontinence and pain syndromes. Daily lab time allows for supervised instruction of pelvic floor muscle evaluation with external palpation and internal vaginal examination of pelvic floor musculature. For each condition the therapist will learn to: recognize the key signs and symptoms that lead to impairment, functional limitations and disabilities; use an evaluation/outcome tool; and perform a suggested protocol of treatment interventions. Clinical treatment interventions will include therapeutic exercise, external manual therapy, patient related education/behavioral instructions and electrotherapeutic modalities.
Please note, the Pelvic Floor series of courses typically fill up about 2-3 months before the scheduled course date. It is highly recommended that participants register well in advance to reserve their seats. If you need your employer to send a check for your registration payment, please click the Request Invoice button on the course event page to reserve your seat.
As this continuing education course includes extensive lab work, all course attendees should come prepared to participate as both clinician and patient. Vaginal pelvic floor muscle examinations will be taught in labs. Labs will be conducted under the supervision of instructors and teaching assistants. There will be a ratio of at least one instructor/assistant for every ten participants. Past participants have found that wearing comfortable clothing that is easy for changing (such as skirts or athletic shorts) is very useful for labs. Due to temperature variations from clinic to clinic we would recommend wearing comfortable layers.
The Herman & Wallace Institute welcomes all professionals who are appropriately licensed at our courses. Being born with a vagina and other female anatomy is not a prerequisite for attending or participating fully in our courses. No one participant will be required to partner with any other one participant during labs.
Vaginal examination and internal myofascial manual therapy prior to 32 weeks gestation is not the common standard of medical practice. Partiicipants who are pregnant who wish to participate fully in the entire course including in lab must bring a clearance letter from their physician allowing them to participate in the labs is required. Participants who are pregnant also have the option of bringing their own lab model for examination, or they have the option of working in a group of three during lab times.
PLEASE NOTE: This course includes internal assessment and exam techniques, which will be practiced in partnered pairs in lab time. H&W strives to foster an environment that is safe and supportive. Survivors of past trauma should be aware that performing or experiencing internal exam may be triggering, and that many, regardless of their histories, feel strong emotions when practicing these techniques. In order to foster an environment that is non-triggering and safe for all participants, we recommend all participants consider the emotional impact they may experience during the course, and consider consulting a trauma counselor or therapist prior to attending. Read more about What to Expect During Courses with Internal Lab Work.
10-14 days before the course, participants will receive an invite to join Teachable, an online learning platform. Teachable is where you will find pre-recorded videos (all 10 hours of prerecorded lectures must be completed before attending the first day of class) and other pre-requisite learning, manual files, your liability waiver you must sign in order to participate, and any links to Zoom (if you choose the self hosted option.) After the course is over, Teachable is where you will find your post-test and evaluation form to tell us what you thought, as well as your certificate. It is required in Teachable that you complete all components in order. Pre-recorded videos that are required must be watched before going onto the next session.
This continuing education seminar is targeted to physical therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapist assistants, registered nurses, nurse midwives, and other rehabilitation professionals. Content is not intended for use outside the scope of the learner's license or regulation. Physical therapy continuing education courses should not be taken by individuals who are not licensed or otherwise regulated, except, as they are involved in a specific plan of care.
In order to derive the most benefit from this course, we ask our participants to internalize the required reading materials and complete a diary assignment prior to attending. Please complete this assignment prior to the first day of the seminar. We ask that participants keep a personal bladder diary measuring and recording fluid intake and urine output for two days - one work day and one non-work day. Specific measurements (use a large measuring cup or urine collection “hat”) of urine output are needed for at least one day, and on the following day one can estimate by counting seconds while voiding.
1. Bladder Diary (We will complete this as a group activity on the first day of the course)
2. Bladder Diary Assignment Instructions
3. Patient History Form
4. Biofeedback Video - Please download and listen to the presentation
1. Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention of Urinary Incontinence
2. The International Pelvic Pain Society Patient's Booklet on Chronic Pelvic Pain
3. Principles of Biofeedback from Professor Tim Watson's website- an incredible resource!
4. Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (a download from Tim Watson's site: electrotherapy.org.)
5. IUGA/ICS report on female pelvic floor terminology
6. Many participants find it helpful to review the anatomy of the pelvis and perineum
7. Gray's Anatomy for Students - Available at a 20% Discount for Herman & Wallace registrants (use discount code ELS25OFF). Registrants who already own a copy are not required to purchase an additional one. For those who are interested in making the shift to digital, there is an ebook version of Gray's Anatomy for Students through the above link.
Please Contact Us with any questions about the use of this text as a required reading in this course.
Recorded video lectures to be viewed in-full prior to the course (Total video lecture time: 10 hours)
Hourly schedule of live Zoom meetings.
Day One (includes lab learning - meet at a satellite location or in pairs/triples):
0:00 Log on to Zoom meeting and call roll
Day Two (includes lab learning - meet at a satellite location or in pairs/triples):
0:00 Questions from Day 1
Notice this schedule starts each day at 0:00. The course does not start at mid-night! This schedule is meant to show the duration of each component of the course, not the actual start-time of each lecture. The actual start time will appear in the title of the satellite course page on our website, showing the local time zone.
Upon completion of this continuing education seminar, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the muscle layers and specific muscles of the pelvic floor
2. List the pelvic floor muscle functions
3. Describe and perform pelvic floor muscle evaluation techniques utilizing observation, vaginal palpation, and SEMG biofeedback
4. List appropriate outcome measure tools for urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic pain
5. List indications, precautions, contraindications, and universal precautions for pelvic floor examination and treatment
6. Identify specific pelvic pain conditions (vulvodynia, IC and CPP) and common physical therapy interventions
7. Identify the various types of urinary incontinence and behavioral treatment options available to the physical therapist
8. List two diagnoses that would benefit from applications of electrotherapy
9. Describe the applications of SEMG biofeedback for the pelvic floor
10. Develop evidence-based treatment plans and progressive clinical goals for female pelvic floor dysfunctions
|Name||Street Address (Links to Map)|
|Course Location||6100 Whipple Ave NW
North Canton, OH 44720
Hampton Inn & Suites Canton
|5256 Broadmoor Cir NW
Canton, OH 44709
|5400 Lauby Rd,
North Canton, OH 447204
Directions from Recommended Lodging to Course Location: (click here if no map appears below)
Darla Cathcart, PT, DPT, WCS, CLT
Darla graduated from Louisiana State University (Shreveport, LA) with her physical therapy degree, performed residency training in Women’s Health PT at Duke University, and is currently pursuing a PhD at University of Arkansas Medical Sciences. Her dissertation research focus is on using non-invasive brain stimulation to augment behavioral interventions for women with lifelong vaginismus.
Darla’s certifications and training include: Women’s Health Certified Specialist (WCS, board certification through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties). Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy (CAPP-Pelvic). Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT).
Darla began her women’s health physical therapy career in her first job while working with pregnant women with musculoskeletal problems in a private outpatient therapy clinic in Shreveport, LA (with a focus on spine rehab). While there, she developed and hosted an exercise class for pregnant women. She would go on to develop a mom and baby postpartum exercise class while in her Duke residency in Durham, NC. She went on to develop the pelvic, pregnancy, and post-breast cancer/lymphedema PT program at Christus-Schumpert Health system in Shreveport, LA. During this time, she participated in educating women in the labor and birth preparatory classes hosted by the hospital; she also taught the women’s health course for physical therapy students at LSU-Shreveport. Darla went on to serve as a full-time faculty member in the physical therapy program at University of Central Arkansas in Conway, AR, where she taught women’s health topics, documentation, therapeutic exercise, professional development, and human physiology. She now owns a private PT practice that is dedicated to pelvic (bowel, bladder, and pelvic pain) and pregnancy/postpartum conditions in Conway, AR.
Darla has several peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed scientific publications. Amongst some of these, she co-authored “Clinical Summary: Urinary Incontinence” for PTNow.org in April 2015. She authored the chapter titled “The Female Hip and Pelvis” in Orthopedic Management of the Hip and Pelvis (S Cheatham, M Kolber, Elsevier, 2015). She chaired the committee for and participated heavily in the development of the Certificate of Achievement in Pregnancy/Postpartum (CAPP-OB) course series for the Section on Women’s Health of the American Physical Therapy Association. Darla has spoken and instructed many courses in local, national, and international settings on a variety of pelvic, pregnancy/postpartum, and other women’s health physical therapy topics. Darla has served as the Director of Education (2011-2014) and as Vice President (2015-2016) for the Section on Women’s Health, American Physical Therapy Association. She also served a technical expert panel member on Treatments for Fecal Incontinence, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2014-2015. She also volunteered as a Women’s Health Certified Specialist Exam Standardization Task Force member in May 2013. Darla received several awards from the Section on Women’s Health: CAPP-OB Instructor of the Year (2017); Course Site Hostess of the Year (2018); and Volunteer of the Year (2015). She also received Clinical Instructor of the Year while serving as a clinical instructor a pelvic health physical therapy student from Elon University in 2011.
On a personal note, Darla has twin boys who were born in 2008. She is a life-long runner and exerciser who loves dark chocolate, craft beer, and her Basset hound (George) and Basset-Dachshund mix (Peanut).
Attention: We are unable to offer "retro-active" discounts (i.e. applying a discount to a transaction after the transaction takes place), so if you are interested in exploring discount options and you are unsure if your transactions is eligible for a discount, please contact us to inquire.
This 10% discount is available for a single registrant who wishes to enroll in 3 or more courses, and pay in one transaction. Registrants wishing to enroll in 5 or more courses should contact us for a customized quote. We can also apply this discount if 2 therapists from a single clinic/hospital enroll in 3 or more courses (ie Registrant A enrolls in Course X and Course Y, Registrant B enrolls in Course X, and Registrants A and B both work at Clinic Z). This discount cannot be used in combination with any other discounts. Registration and payment must be received at the same time in one credit card payment, one check or one envelop with multiple checks. This type of registration cannot be completed online, if you are wishing to receive the Multi-Course discount please call or email us directly for assistance.
This discount is available for a group of three or more registrants, who all work at the same clinic/hospital, enroll in a single course, and pay in a single transaction or mail in multiple checks in a single envelope. This discount cannot be used in combination with any other discounts.
Groups of 3-5 receive a 10% discount off the combined price of their group's registrations.
Groups of 6 or more should call or Contact Us so that we can properly create an invoice for your registration.
This 10% discount is available to current students who have yet to earn a license to practice at the time of course registration. This discount is not available to those therapists who have previously held a license, and are currently enrolled in a doctoral, or other post-graduate, program. This discount cannot be used in combination with any other discounts.
To get this discount when checking out online, use the code 2020Student. (Note, this code is only valid for non-licensed students. The H&W admin team will verify that registrants signed up with this code are, indeed, current students prior to their attendance of the course).