April Mile High District Event: Sacroiliac Evidence-Informed Update

April Mile High District Event: Sacroiliac Evidence-Informed Update

This course will briefly compare Evidence-Based with Evidence-Informed Practice and provide a historical view of the problem of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) area pain and mobility impairment. We will discuss the function of the SIJ and novel evaluation methods and review literature that questions the utility and validity of the so-named SIJ Pain Provocation tests, and present methods of being more precise with them. Two patterns of SIJ area pain and mobility will be presented along with a straightforward patient self-treatment method that is easier on the clinician.

Jerry Hesch, BSPT, MHS, DPT, PT, a manual therapy innovator, practices at the Hesch Institute in Aurora, Colorado. He has developed an approach to chronic musculoskeletal pain using very gentle forces applied for a long duration to restore homeostasis in the body. He provides a proper whole-body approach because an injury in one part affects the distal parts. His approach is a practical, quick intervention, and patients are typically significantly improved and independent within 1-3 visits.

Jerry has meticulously examined the existing research and literature, with an eye for clinical problems that lack adequate solutions, and has worked to fill those gaps. His approach is very gentle and has long-lasting benefits. In 2010, he established the Hesch Institute, whose mission is: “To facilitate the incorporation of the Hesch Method of Manual Therapy into contemporary health care practice; through research, development, education, publication, and the establishment of a center for training, research, and clinical services.”  He has presented over 100 workshops in the USA, Canada, and Europe, and has presented courses, papers, and posters at state, national, and international conferences. He has published two book chapters, a book (Amazon.com) on sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SIJD), and three manual therapy book chapters.

Jerry has discovered more than a dozen patterns of movement dysfunction not described in the traditional model and, along with others, has developed passive mobility testing as an alternative to gross motion testing, which has poor inter-tester reliability and inappropriately interprets pelvic asymmetry as an intra-articular phenomenon. He has plumbed the manual therapy paradigms, seeking and filling knowledge gaps.

He lives in Aurora, CO, and enjoys spending time with his family, including 13 grandchildren. He enjoys reading, participating in online clinical discussions, silversmithing, and, when able, dabbling in metalworking and glass fusing.