• Physical Therapists and Physical Therapy Assistants

• Occupational Therapists

• Exercise Physiologists

• Activity-Based Therapy professionals

• Pilates teachers

• Yoga teachers

• Strength and Conditioning Specialists

• Caretakers/partners of SCI

Working in practice settings:

• Out-patient rehab

• In-patient rehab

• Acute care

• Activity-based therapy

• Home therapy services

This course content is not intended for use by any participants outside the scope of their license or regulation.

Instruction Level: Intermediate

This course assumes 1-2 years of experience in working with spinal cord injury clients/patients. If you are new to this demographic, please complete the online Groundwork workshop to familiarize yourself with SCI before attending this course.

By the end of the course, clinicians will have a structured framework for exercise selection and progressions that they can immediately integrate into any rehabilitation (physical therapy, occupational therapy) and/or performance (activity-based therapy, pilates, yoga) program.

This course follows the ‘typical’ progression for those with C5-T12 SCI.

At the conclusion of this program, the learner will be able to:

• Design accessible, targeted, and progressive movement programs tailored to cervical- and thoracic-level SCI.

• Confidently manually support bodies in a way that empower clients to initiate and control their own movement - specifically handing skills for rolling over, sitting up, seated balance and getting into quadruped.

• Identify and leverage primary access points (e.g., shoulders and upper extremities) to influence trunk, pelvic, and lower-extremity stability and function.

• Translate clinic-based exercises into functional, meaningful home exercise programs that support carryover to daily activities.

• Enhance motor learning and performance with strategic coaching cues and sensory inputs.

• Optimize the use of equipment and external supports to reduce clinician physical burden while maintaining safe, effective, and client-centered intervention.

Note: This course does not cover specific use of Pilates Equipment. If you are interested in learning about using Pilates Equipment for Neurological clients/patients, please refer to:

• ‍Online, asynchronous workshop: Pilates Equipment for Neuro Rehab

• Private In-service for clinics: Optimizing YOUR Pilates Equipment

• Complete this Foundational 3-Day course so you can attend an Advanced Applications Course: Pilates Equipment (currently under development)

Pre-course module (1 hour, online asynchronous) introduces the Frameworkstructure and Applied Systems so we have more time for interactive labs in person!

Live, in-person (21 hours)

• 65 page printed guidebook with diagrams, photos and prompts for clinical reasoning and reflection.

• Powerpoint visuals with client case examples.

• Demonstrations on participants and client models.

• Learning through movement experiences.

• Partner labs.

• Hands-on practical application labs (8 hours).

• Case discussion and presentation of observations & interventions from participants.

This course is highly interactive - and ACTIVE - experience.

Real understanding, competence and confidence comes from full in-person immersion. Come ready for a lot of movement, partner labs, and hands-on practice.

SMALL LABS w/ DEMO CLIENTS:

8 hours of hands on lab practice with real demo clients provides opportunity for real-time troubleshooting, observation of the quick outcomes from optimal cueing and builds confidence for execution after the course.

HIGH TOUCH GUIDANCE:

Due to the extensive hands-on learning components of this course, we maintain a strict student-to-faculty ratio of 16:1 to provide a high-touch learning experience and comply with many state APTA standards. A Course/Lab Assistant is added to the course for 16+ participants.

DIVERSE LEARNING STYLES:

I strive to deliver the curriculum for a variety of learning styles:

• Kinesthetic (feeling)

• Auditory (discussion)

• Visual (PowerPoint & client demonstrations)

• Experiential (hands on practice)

• Theory/Intellectual (printed Guidebook)

THE PRINTED GUIDEBOOK:

A 60-page printed and bound Guidebook hosts the concepts, theory, and exercises with plenty of space for clinical reasoning notes, application to YOUR clients and reflection prompts to establish deeper integration of the material.

CONTINUED SUPPORT & COMMUNITY:

All course participants are invited to stay connected through the Professional Community social network - a place to ask questions and share client case success.

Participants can also join Office House events, scheduled quarterly, to discuss client cases and gain insights from other professionals in the ZN Network. View the reply of one of our events here.

…how Learning Outcomes are measured and course completion is evaluated.

Earning all CEU’s/Contact Hours require the following:

PRE-COURE LEARNING MODULE:

A one-hour self-paced pre-course module must be completed prior to the in-person course (knowledge check embedded in the module & checked on arrival).

ATTENDANCE:

Course participants must be present for all in-person presentation & lab (3 days, 21 hours). There is no partial credit available for this course.

COURSE COMPLETION QUIZ/KNOWLEDGE CHECK:

An eleven question quiz is completed at the end of Day 3 of the course, along with a session planning template to complete. Participant quiz answers are reviewed during session planning time.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION:

Upon completion of quiz and session design, participants certificates are signed by the course presenter. The certificate in the back of the Course Guidebook is not valid unless signed by the presenter in their signature color.

COURSE & PRESENTER EVALUATION:

All participants are asked to provide evaluation and feedback using the form (see included in syllabus). Evaluations are reviewed by the presenter and Course Lab Assistant (CLA) for future curriculum development. Participants can also request additional resources to support their learning in this form.