Intro to Adaptive Training Course

Our Intro to Adaptive Training Course

Since 2014 the physical therapy and coaching team at Movement Rx has led specialized functional fitness classes for Adaptive Athletes. Participants include veterans, active duty personnel, and civilians alike. Their adaptations are both visible (missing limbs, wheelchair, etc) and invisible (traumatic brain injuries (TBI), PTSD, etc).

Over the years we have found that there are many therapy, fitness, trainer, and coaching professionals who want to work with adaptive individuals but don’t know how to get started. In addition, many adaptive sports coaches lack the training to effectively integrate strength & conditioning as well as proper recovery tactics with their teams during the season and in the off season. Unfortunately, there is a general lack of confidence in speaking with, programming for and coaching individuals with permanent impairments. As a result, the population that needs the most help, gets the least.

To bridge this gap, we have created an introductory full day course for working with adaptive athletes. With thousands of hours working with adaptive athletes, we have distilled the practice down to the essential knowledge needed for any professional to get started.

What’s Covered in the Course

Having mentored coaches of all types on working with adaptive athletes, we have designed this course to answer all the most common questions:

• How do I talk to the disabled population?
• How do I create programming for or adapt my programming to the impaired population?
• What are the most common types of impairments?
• What are the most common types of medical equipment?
• How do I adapt movement X, to an athlete with condition Y?
• How do I assess an adaptive athlete who is ambulatory and how do I asses an adaptive athlete who is not ambulatory?
• How do I provide an adaptive athlete with methods to help fix their current movement impairments?

To answer these questions, we will start with a high-level discussion of function and drill down all the way to adapting specific movements. The course will start with a general introduction to functional movement as a concept. We will then explore what differentiates normal vs. abnormal movement. With the general foundation of normal movement in hand, we will then focus on the adaptive population in particular. First by understanding how to talk with and coach an impaired athlete, then secondly how to think about programming for that athlete. Once these general techniques are understood, we will next take a deep dive into the four major impairment categories: Lower Limb, Upper Limb, Wheeled, Traumatic Brain Injury/Invisible Wounds. We will finish by spending the remainder of the course detailing how each of the 7 major functional movements interact with each of these impairments.

Course Details

The Movement Rx Intro to Adaptive Training Course is a full day course. In this course health professionals, coaches and trainers (HCTs) of adaptive athletes will be trained on adaptation-specific strength & conditioning methodologies as follows:

1. Help improve HCT confidence so you CAN integrate strength & conditioning into your athletes’ training for their sport outside of the rehabilitation environment,
2. Help HCTs identify what optimal normal movement looks like so you can better identify abnormal movement during practice and competition;
3. Learn movement principles of the spine, major joints, and execution of primal movements (squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, carrying) so you can help your athletes be successful in mitigating musculoskeletal injuries and improving their performance in daily life and in their sport of choice;
4. Understand basic functional human movement as it applies to major permanent physical impairments;
5. Learn the fundamental strategies to adapt movements for all major movement and mobility impairments across primary disability categories;
6. Be aware of all the most common medical devices and which devices are best with what sport or movements;
7. How to safely and effectively adapt common training movements to all these major impairments.

Course Pricing

This fee is refunded upon conclusion of the course if you meet any of the following criteria:

• You are a disabled veteran in good standing with the VA
• You are a coach, therapist, or trainer who currently works with Disabled Veterans
• You are a coach, therapist, or trainer who would like to work with Disabled Veterans
• You are a family member of a Disabled Veteran