Continuing Education Module
The Movement System in Geriatric Physical by Myla Quiben, PT, PhD, DPT, MS
Since the conversation started, what has Movement has long been implied as the core of happened? physical therapist practice and is central to the vision adopted by the American Physical Therapy Association The vision statement of 2013 came with guiding prin(APTA) in 2013 asserting that movement is an integral ciples to communicate how the profession and society part of the physical therapy profession. The vision states, will look when the vision is achieved. The Identity principle “The physical therapy profession will transform society by articulates that the movement system will be the core of optimizing movement to improve health and participation physical therapist practice, education, and research.1 In in life.”1 This paper will provide updates on the movement 2015, APTA released its definition of the movement syssystem, describe how its use is relevant to the practice of tem along with a description of its relationship to physical physical therapy with aging adults, and provide practical therapist practice.6 The movement system is defined as a considerations of an examination framework that can be “collection of systems (cardiovascular, pulmonary, endoapplied to aging adults that considers movement at its crine, integumentary, nervous and musculoskeletal) that core. interact to move the body or its body parts.”6 Discussion that movement is central The next steps, once the movement to a professional identity has been system was defined, focused on the in conversation for more than examination and the diagnostic four decades. However, the conlabels specific to the movement cept of movement as a physisystem. The APTA House of Delologic system surfaced more egates adopted the position, the recently. While conversation Management of the Movement started back in the 1970s, System, that endorses the in 1983 the APTA House of development of diagnostic Delegates adopted a definilabels and/or classification tion of physical therapy that systems that reflect and identified the diagnosis and contribute to the physical treatment of human movetherapists’ ability to propment dysfunction as the erly and effectively manage primary focus of physical disorders of the movement therapist patient managesystem.7 ment. Years later, with input The Academy of Neurofrom physical therapy lumilogic Physical Therapy (ANPT) naries Florence Kendall and Movement System Task Force, Scott Irwin, the movement convened in 2015, was charged to system was defined in Steadman’s develop expertise in the conversation Medical Dictionary as a physiologic system regarding the movement system and diagAPTA Movement System that functions to produce motion as a whole nosis of movement system in neurologic or of its body parts.2,3 Shirley Sahrmann PT, physical therapy. The Task Force published PHD, FAPTA, in the 1998 McMillan lecture, a white paper on Movement System Diagnoses in Neurochallenged the profession to further develop the concept logic Physical Therapy8 and has since developed separate of movement as a physiological system.2 Dr. Cynthia task forces to, 1) develop a structured examination, i.e. Coffin-Zadai discussed the human movement system, the movement analysis framework and, 2) develop movecomplexity of the diagnostic process related to movement system diagnostic labels specific to the postural ment, and called for advancing diagnostic classification system. categories in the 2004 John Maley Lecture.4 Two years The Movement System Summit of 2016 had the later, Barbara Norton PT, PhD, FAPTA convened a series of goals of describing the implications of using movement conferences, known as the Diagnosis Dialog, to discuss system diagnostic labels and developing an action plan to diagnosis in physical therapy that continued for the next integrate movement system concepts into practice, edu10 years.5 cation, and research.9 Over 100 participants comprised
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