Evidence-Based Approach to Surgery and Rehabilitation of ACL Injuries Online CE Course

Course components can be delivered as printed products or online:

• 20 evidence-based practice articles from Sports Medicine Research

• Continuing education exam

More than 250,000 ACL injuries occur every year, so athletic trainers, physical therapists, and others who work with athletes need to be well versed in the rehabilitation techniques and options in surgery for treating ACL injuries. Evidence-Based Approach to Surgery and Rehabilitation of ACL Injuries CE Course provides practitioners with a comprehensive review of the literature surrounding the most common and effective surgical procedures and rehabilitation practices for ACL injuries. This continuing education course presents 20 research articles regarding ACL injury treatment with the goal of demonstrating how athletic trainers and therapists can use existing studies and apply the information to their own practice. The articles are followed by an exam containing 100 questions. Upon passing the exam, users may print out and submit a certificate for continuing education credits.

After completing this continuing education course, athletic trainers and physical therapists will be able to apply therapeutic exercises and modalities during ACL reconstruction with the ultimate goal of helping clients and athletes return to their preinjury activity levels. Additionally, the psychological outcomes among patients with ACL injury are discussed, including the fear of moving and causing reinjury to a recently repaired ACL. The surgical side of ACL rehabilitation is also examined through various graft options as well as the emerging trends in surgical techniques for ACL reconstruction and how they compare to standard techniques. The aim of this course is to help practitioners educate their patients about short-term and long-term outcomes after ACL injury.

Evidence-Based Approach to Surgery and Rehabilitation of ACL Injuries CE Course supports the initiative in the athletic training profession to integrate the best new research and evidence into clinical decision making with the goal of improving patient outcomes. Certified athletic trainers completing this course may earn continuing education units to apply toward the required evidence-based practice category to maintain their certification.

Jeffrey B. Driban, PhD, ATC, is an assistant professor in the division of rheumatology at Tufts University School of Medicine and a member of the special and scientific staff at Tufts Medical Center. The goal of his research is to explore novel biochemical and imaging markers to gain a better understanding of osteoarthritis pathophysiology and potential disease phenotypes.

Driban received his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the University of Delaware. During his doctoral training at Temple University, he focused on various aspects of osteoarthritis (e.g., early pathophysiology in animal models, biochemical markers in joint fluid, systematic reviews of risk factors for osteoarthritis, survey of medication use among patients with osteoarthritis). In January 2010, he began a postdoctoral research fellowship in the division of rheumatology at Tufts Medical Center, where he continued his focus on osteoarthritis and learned new surgical strategies in magnetic resonance imaging.

Stephen Thomas, PhD, ATC, is an assistant professor at Temple University. Thomas received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in athletic training from Temple University. He then received his PhD in biomechanics and movement science from the University of Delaware. Before working at Neumann University, Thomas performed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of orthopaedic surgery and biomedical engineering, where he received a Ruth L. Kirschstein Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health. He has served on several national committees and is the chair of the research committee for the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow Therapists.

Thomas continues to be active in research, participating as a manuscript reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. He is on the executive board for Athletic Training and Sports Health Care. He also was an ad hoc grant reviewer for the EATA and is the cofounder of a website dedicated to the summary of sports medicine research called Sports Medicine Research (SMR) (www.sportsmedres.org). Thomas has numerous peer-reviewed publications and abstracts in the areas of shoulder adaptations due to overhead throwing and the basic science of rotator cuff injury and healing. He has also had several invited lectures throughout the United States on overhead throwing.