Continuing Education Course

All Things Balance

Balance is complex, yet we often approach it too simply in our rehab programs!

This course is specifically tailored for both orthopedic and neurologic physical therapists that work with imbalance! You will learn how to pinpoint the exact issue your patient is facing and then follow a proven, step-by-step balance program tailored to address it. The outcome? Dramatic, life-changing improvements in your patient's balance and quality of life. Learn and explore over 100 diverse exercises to incorporate into your balance plan of cares that will keep patients interested and provide remarkable results.

  • “I did my first progress note on a balance patient and I almost did a cartwheel when his berg improved by 20 points (21 to 41) in 5 weeks. He is a challenging case, and had I not taken this course, I would have likely needed to pass him to someone else. I can’t thank you enough for the material you put together.”

    -Maggie B.

  • This is the most comprehensive balance class I’ve ever taken. It goes through a thorough assessment of every bodily system involved with balance so you can confidently identify exactly WHY a patient is off balance. This allows you to prescribe exercises to directly address that patient’s specific impairments. There is a logical progression to this balance program with a huge variety of exercises in each stage to keep patient’s interest for weeks.

    -Evaine C.

  • Great content with a comprehensive review of the multi system components of balance. The evaluative portion was insightful with great detail on the vestibular portion was fantastic as this is a weak point of mine and something that seems to slip to the wayside in our treatment of patients. The intervention portion of the course was thorough and well thought out with A TON of exercises provided and potential progressions. Ashlin is VERY knowledgeable, a great educator, and an EXPERT on all things balance. You will leave this course CONFIDENT in your skills to evaluate and treat any patient with balance issues that walks through your clinics doors.

    -Harrison O.

  • “Absolutely wonderful information on missing pieces of balance training for rehab.”

    -Kristi S.

  • It is clear that she is an expert in this field and these methods need taught to all therapists, both ortho and neuro. So much valuable knowledge was learned that will immediately be able to be implemented in the clinic on Monday!

    -Andy H.

  • This was a very educational course that was quite in depth in regards to working with patients with balance deficits as well as pts who have fears of falling. The exercises and techniques taught in this course are things that I can utilize right away with my current patients as well as future patients.

    -Anonymous

Agenda

16 CEU’s

Day 1

8–9 am: Falls overview
9–10 am: Balance & Aging
10–12 pm: Balance systems overview

  • Visual system

  • Vestibular system

  • Gaze stabilization system

  • Somatosensory system

12–1 pm: Lunch

1–4 pm: Evaluation Skills

  • Neuro screen

  • Vestibular testing

  • Gaze stability testing

  • Balance outcomes

4–5 pm: Skills check

Day 2

8–12 pm: Balance treatment overview

  • Double limb support weight shift training

  • Sit to stand training

  • Weight shift transfer tasks

  • Single leg stance progressions

  • Dynamic walking balance

  • Reactive stepping/Balance strategies

  • Floor transfer training

  • Strength training for balance rehab

  • Vestibular rehab

  • Oculomotor rehab

  • Cervical treatments

12–1 pm: Lunch

1–3 pm: Balance treatment continued

3–4 pm: Case studies/putting it into practice

4–5 pm: Skills check

About the instructor

Ashlin Hundley PT, DPT, NCS is an accomplished clinician with a decade of experience, specializing in neurologic and vestibular rehabilitation. Renowned for her passion for teaching, she excels at demystifying complex topics for her audiences. Ashlin has presented extensively at national, state, and local conferences, sharing her expertise widely. With experience in both large university hospital systems and community-based rural facilities, she currently serves as the Neuro Team Lead at Memorial Health, where she is spearheading the development of an innovative neurologic rehab program.

As a neuro and vestibular expert, Ashlin Hundley began to notice striking similarities in the movement patterns of individuals who were off balance, but not experiencing dizziness, paralleling those with vestibular diagnoses. This observation prompted her to delve deeply into the balance systems, leading to the development of a specialized balance rehabilitation “protocol” that targets the specific impairments within each system. Over a two-year period, Ashlin tracked the outcomes of her balance rehab program and found that 100% of participants improved by at least one Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) on the balance assessments, with many showing improvements of three to five times their baseline scores. Remarkably, this program yielded significant enhancements regardless of comorbidities such as dementia, pain, or neuropathy.

Get outcomes like Mary!

Mary is a 75 year old that was having a lot of near falls and imbalance. She often held onto her husbands arm when walking.

12 weeks in the balance program:

Berg = 5x MCID improvement
FGA = 4x MCID improvement
10MWT: 7x MCID improvement
ABC scale: now above fall risk cut off

Get outcomes like Harold!

Harold is an 85 year old male with imbalance. He felt slower than his peers and just felt that he declined after COVID quarantine.

5 weeks in the balance program:

Berg = 2x MCID improvement
FGA = 2x MCID improvement
10MWT: 4x MCID improvement
ABC scale: now above fall risk cut off

Get outcomes like Joy!

Joy had a previous foot surgery that caused pain when walking. She participated with orthopedic focused rehab, but her balance was still impaired at discharge.

5 weeks in the balance program:

Berg = 3x MCID improvement
FGA = 2x MCID improvement
10MWT: 4x MCID improvement
ABC scale: now above fall risk cut off