Complex Elbow Injuries Part 1: Evaluation Considerations

This course will review considerations a therapist must address during a comprehensive evaluation of traumatic/complex elbow injuries. Therapists must also be knowledgeable about the types of complex elbow fracture diagnoses they may see in documentation or on therapy prescriptions, to determine what structures are involved. To begin the course, a review of the wound healing process as it relates to all structures involved will be presented. Following this, pertinent biomechanical studies will be reviewed that will impact decisions made by therapists through all phases of rehabilitation. Lastly, special considerations on emerging areas of practice will be discussed that can assist the therapist in developing a more client-centered treatment plan. In the literature, various terms are used to describe complex traumatic injuries. Due to this variability, the injuries in this course will address those that are a result of trauma that involves damage to two or more of the following structures: soft tissue (skin/fascia), bone, muscle, tendon, ligament, blood vessels, and peripheral nerve injuries.