This online course on proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) thoroughly covers the techniques you’ll need to aid upper extremity rehabilitation. PNF Techniques for Upper Extremity Rehabilitation will help you as an athletic trainer take your understanding and application of PNF to a higher level. This interactive course features activities designed to facilitate understanding and application of PNF procedures and techniques for upper extremity rehabilitation.

The course is supplemented by the electronic text PNF Techniques for Upper Extremity Rehabilitation, which includes links to illustrations and animation that simplify the science behind PNF. The text’s detailed descriptions of PNF techniques and procedures link to video demonstrations that allow for a clearer understanding of complex techniques. The video facilitates learning by specifying exactly where the athletic trainer should place the hands, how to position the athlete, and precisely how to perform the maneuver. You can download and save the text so you can refer to the material even after you complete the course.

The online course not only teaches the science behind the PNF technique, but it also demonstrates the procedures and techniques and how to apply the knowledge to develop rehabilitation programs for people with various upper-extremity sports injuries. Virtual clients, who range from weekend warriors to professional athletes, are presented throughout the course to give you an opportunity to assess an injury, identify which muscles are affected, select the correct PNF technique, and plan a course of action. Throughout the course, you will gain a solid understanding of the procedures, determine conditions for which PNF is indicated and contraindicated, and fine-tune your ability to administer the procedures correctly. The interaction with the virtual clients is very realistic and simulates what professionals experience every day on the job.

The first half of the course focuses on learning the basic procedures of PNF and the science behind it. The following topics are covered:

• Manual pressure and contacts—grip and pressure
  
• Clinician’s positioning
  
• Appropriate resistance—including isometric, concentric, and isotonic
  
• Verbal stimulation
  
• Visual stimulation
  
• Irradiation
  
• Traction and approximation
  
• Quick stretch—stretch stimulus
  
• Stretch reflex
  
• Functional patterns of facilitation—for the scapula and upper extremity (including bilateral patterns)
  
• Normal timing and synergy

This portion of the course also provides insight on the neurological mechanisms of reciprocal innervation and inhibition, temporal and spatial summation, irradiation, successive induction and after discharge, and their specific implications for PNF application.

The second half of the course focuses on technique and application. Here you will learn the various PNF techniques and how to select the appropriate technique for enhancing muscle and tendon flexibility, improving joint stability, reducing pain, and improving muscle strength. The course will fully prepare you to apply the technique to a variety of conditions:

• SICK scapula
  
• Glenohumeral instability
  
• Supraspinatus tendinopathy with secondary subacromial impingement
  
• Medial and lateral epicondylitis
  
• Ulnar collateral ligament sprain
  
• Post-elbow dislocation
  
• Forearm strains
  
• Handgrip impairment

Upon completion of the course, you will be fully prepared to translate the science of PNF techniques and procedures into practical rehabilitation programs for physically active people with upper-extremity injuries.