APTA Clinical Practice Guidelines and Psychologically Informed Practice

May 5, 2022 to May 6, 2022

Target Audience

This activity provides continuing education for physical therapists. A certificate of attendance is available for other attendees.

Learning Objectives

  1. Appreciate the widespread variation in management of LBP.
  2. Describe the steps involved with the development of the APTA Clinical Practice Guideline for LBP.
  3. Recognize the distinction between patho-anatomic and impairment-based diagnoses.
  4. Identify the 4 intervention categories of the APTA CPG for LBP.
  5. Examine the methodology of how updated CPG recommendations were produced.
  6. Summarize the recommendations for exercise, manual therapy, classification systems and patient education.
  7. Differentiate the recommendations for acute LBP, chronic LBP, older patients with chronic LBP and operative LBP.
  8. Augment the updated CPG with consistent recommendations synthesized from systematic reviews of other MSK CPGs.
  9. Clarify the importance of psychologically informed physical therapy in the management of LBP.
  10. Explain the implications of guideline concordant PT care and the value of early referral to PT.
  11. Apply how PIP fits into CPG o In addition to medical conditions, clinicians should be aware of psychological and social factors that may be contributing to a patient’s persistent pain and disability psychosocial factors appear to play a larger prognostic role than physical factors in LBP and prolonged disability.
  12. List questionnaires that can assess psychological risk factors and basic PIP intervention elements that address psychosocial risk factors.
  13. Critique the importance of clinicians’ language /word choices in creating a good working partnership with patients.
  14. Utilize basic principles of Active Listening and Motivational Interviewing (MI).
  15. Implement MI methods for working with ambivalence about behavior change (e.g., ambivalence about doing PT exercises).
  16. Review Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT).
  17. Compare the common ground between CBT and PT practices such as CFT.
  18. Differentiate elements of Cognitive, Behavioral, and CFT interventions.
  19. Evaluate research evidence for Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE).
  20. Interpret methods of Pain Neuroscience Education.
  21. Acknowledge connections between PNE, MI, and CBT/CFT methods.
  22. Develop pain coping skills of physiologic relaxation, physical activity and reframing unhelpful thinking (e.g., pain catastrophizing).
  23. Relate challenges and opportunities in using Pain Coping Skills in PT practice.
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 13.50 APTA
    American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
    The DHA, J-7, CEPO is an American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Approved Provider of continuing education. This activity was planned by and for the health care team, and learners will receive 1.35 APTA CEUs. The assignment of APTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by APTA. APTA CEUs are accepted by most state PT licensing boards. Learners are encouraged to check with their local chapter or state board to ensure that they accept APTA accredited courses for licensure renewal.
  • 13.50 Certificate of Attendance
  • 13.50 IPCE
    This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners can receive up to 13.50 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change. In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by DHA, J-7, CEPO. DHA, J-7, CEPO is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry's Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (ARBO/COPE), the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Dental Association’s Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP), and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) to provide continuing education for the health care team.
Course opens: 
04/28/2022
Course expires: 
05/20/2022
Event starts: 
05/05/2022 - 8:00am EDT
Event ends: 
05/06/2022 - 3:00pm EDT

Michael J. Schneider, PhD, DC. Presenter has no financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.

Carol M. Greco, Ph.D. Presenter has no financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.

Available Credit

  • 13.50 APTA
    American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
    The DHA, J-7, CEPO is an American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Approved Provider of continuing education. This activity was planned by and for the health care team, and learners will receive 1.35 APTA CEUs. The assignment of APTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by APTA. APTA CEUs are accepted by most state PT licensing boards. Learners are encouraged to check with their local chapter or state board to ensure that they accept APTA accredited courses for licensure renewal.
  • 13.50 Certificate of Attendance
  • 13.50 IPCE
    This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners can receive up to 13.50 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change. In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by DHA, J-7, CEPO. DHA, J-7, CEPO is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry's Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (ARBO/COPE), the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Dental Association’s Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP), and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) to provide continuing education for the health care team.
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