Participants who register for this course have the option to attend the course live and/or watch the recorded sessions later. The recording will be available to all registrants for a 2-week period after the course/each session. This allows participants who may not be able to attend the live sessions to still benefit from the course content.

To facilitate attendance tracking, please indicate on your registration form if you won't be attending live.

Course Description:

Patients that are being treated for neurologic dysfunction have a variety of therapy services offered to them. Many physicians and therapists overlook bowel and bladder concerns for these patients as an untreatable side effect. There are a variety of behavioural and pelvic floor interventions that can be applied to this patient population. 

This hybrid course will present the common bowel/bladder and sexual side effects that patients can experience with diagnoses of stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s Disease. Medical treatments of bowel and bladder dysfunction in the neurogenic population will be delineated. The course will then explore behavioural interventions that therapists and caregivers can apply to be able to alleviate some of the quality-of-life impact that these dysfunctions can have. Therapists will learn external pelvic floor techniques both manual and exercise based that can help to improve bowel and bladder functioning in these patients. Finally, sexual dysfunction in this patient population will also be explored. Participants will leave the course with treatment plans and therapeutic techniques to improve quality of life for these patients.

This course includes 3 hours of pre-course work (videos and pre-readings on anatomy and physiology of neurogenic bowel and bladder). During the online portion of the course, participants will explore the bowel, bladder and sexual dysfunction common to several neurologic diseases as well as common physiotherapy treatment methods.

Course Objectives

• Participants will be able to describe the common bowel and bladder issues experienced by patients with neurologic issues
• Participants will be able to create a program of typical treatment techniques that can be used by pelvic floor physical therapists to treat patients with neurologic insults.
• Participants will be able to create appropriate patient education to help patients with neurologic dysfunction identify when pelvic floor physiotherapy may help with their bowel and bladder dysfunction.

Audience: This course is open to physiotherapists, naturopathic doctors, registered nurses, and medical doctors.

Prerequisite: Level 1 is recommended but not mandatory. Information & skills taught must be used within scope of practice.

References:

The effect of pelvic floor muscle training on sexual function in men with lower urinary tract symptoms after stroke. Tibaek S, Gard G, Dehlendorff C, Iversen HK, Erdal J, Biering-Sørensen F, Dorey G, Jensen R. Top Stroke Rehabil. 2015 Jun;22(3):185-93.

Urinary incontinence after stroke: does rehabilitation make a difference? A systematic review of the effectiveness of behavioral therapy. Dumoulin C, Korner-Bitensky N, Tannenbaum C. Top Stroke Rehabil. 2005 

Neurogenic colorectal and pelvic floor dysfunction.Krogh K, Christensen P. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2009;

Behavioral therapy to treat urinary incontinence in Parkinson disease. Vaughan CP, Juncos JL, Burgio KL, Goode PS, Wolf RA, Johnson TM 2nd. Neurology. 2011 May 10;76(19):1631-4.

Pelvic floor muscle training in spinal cord injury and its impact on neurogenic detrusor over-activity and incontinence. Vásquez N, Knight SL, Susser J, Gall A, Ellaway PH, Craggs MD. Spinal Cord. 2015 Dec;53(12):887-9.

The effect of pelvic floor muscle training alone or in combination with electrostimulation in the treatment of sexual dysfunction in women with multiple sclerosis. Lúcio AC, D’Ancona CA, Lopes MH, Perissinotto MC, Damasceno BP. Mult Scler. 2014 Nov;20(13):1761-8

Registration Form

Neuro Dysfunction November 2024

Schedule

Date/Time: November 6 & 13, 2024, from 5:30pm-9:30pm ET (Toronto). Please convert to your local time zone. 

Delivery Format

Live attendance is not mandatory for this online course. Enjoy a 2-week window to access and review the course recording, which is sent out on the next business day. We understand that life can be busy, which is why we offer you the freedom to access the course recording(s) during the time-limited viewing period.

Instructor

Carina Siracusa, PT, DPT, WCS

Dr. Carina Siracusa graduated from physical therapy school at Ohio University in 2005 with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy.  She went on to work as a pediatric physical therapist at Genesis Outpatient Rehabilitation in Zanesville, Ohio where she treated a variety of congenital and acquired conditions in children from ages birth to 18.  Her primary caseload at this time consisted of mostly neurologic conditions.  In 2009 she completed her coursework in both Obstetric and Pelvic Physical Therapy from the APTA Section on Women’s Health.  In 2010 she began teaching the CAPP Pelvic courses for the Section on Women’s Health around the United States. 

In 2012 she became the committee chair for the CAPP Pelvic Committee and helped to re-write all three levels of the Certification courses.  In 2014 she began working for OhioHealth in Columbus Ohio as one of the primary therapists in the neuroincontinence program as well as the wheelchair clinic supervisor.  In 2015 she became board certified in women’s health physical therapy.  In 2019 she became one of the first people in the united states to become board certified in oncology physical therapy.

In 2015, Carina authored and began teaching the course “Bowel and Bladder Treatment of the Pediatric Client: Birth to 18”.  She has taught this course both nationally and internationally.  She has also authored and taught the course” Bowel and Bladder Treatment of the Client with Neurologic Dysfunction.

She has presented at multiple national and international conferences on the topic of bowel and bladder treatment including the International Continence Society, The International Urogynecologic Association meeting, the World Confederation of Physical Therapy, and the International Seating Symposium.  She continues to promote the need for pelvic floor treatment for clients with neurologic dysfunction throughout the world.