EUSSER Physiotherapy Speciality Day – Madrid 2009
19th September 2009
Lecture Hall – Castellana Congress Hall Madrid Spain.
The second annual EUSSER day was held in Madrid on 19th Sept 2009 in conjunction with the European society for surgery of the shoulder and elbow (ESSSE/SECEC). Educational and scientific content of the meeting was high with the morning session concentrating on the rotator cuff and the afternoon session on the throwing upper limb, including two presentations on the elbow. Invited speakers came from across Europe providing an excellent opportunity to broaden experience and exchange knowledge. Over 80 participants came from all over the world with a selection of therapists, medics and surgeons.
The morning session was opened by Olivier Gagey, Orthopaedic Surgeon, France who has published widely and has a particular interest in the anatomical function of the shoulder and its relation to pathology. The title of his talk ‘Anatomy & function of the shoulder cuffs’, looked at the dynamic stabilisation of the glenohumeral joint, essentially provided by the rotator cuff but also considering the function of deltoid as a “second cuff”. This was followed by Dr Jeremy Lewis, Consultant Physiotherapist & Lecturer, London, UK. He spoke on ‘Rotator cuff tendinopathy / subacromial impingement: the dilemma of diagnosis’. The aim of his presentation was to review literature on clinical testing and diagnostic imaging relating to rotator cuff disease to help inform clinical practice. He went on to discuss the pathology and management of rotator cuff tendinopathy which was followed by some lively discussion on the role of surgery and a need for a better understanding of where the pain is actually coming from.
Jan Nowak, orthopaedic consultant from Sweden and one of the original founders of EUSSER discussed the surgical role in rotator cuff disease, including a treatment algorithm used by the Swedish shoulder and elbow society.
Speakers Dinner: Jeremy Lewis, Jan Nowak, Lluis Puig, Ann Cools, Anju Jaggi, Sheila Pillai, Martin Scott, Marco Conti, Olivier Gagey and Val Jones.
The session after lunch focused on the elbow with two speakers who have a special interest in this joint. Val Jones, a clinical physiotherapy specialist at Sheffield shoulder & elbow unit discussed the mechanisms of injury, assessment, treatment and post-operative rehabilitation in elbow instability and Antonio Foruria, currently a fellow at the Mayo clinic discussed the aspects of elbow surgery in particular the post operative rehab.
The afternoon session focused on the throwing shoulder which included the multi-factorial causes of shoulder pain in the sportsman, role of the scapula, internal impingement and rehabilitation for instability. Speakers included, Lluis Puig, physiotherapy lecturer, Spain, Prof Ann Cools, education lead for physiotherapy at Ghent university, Belgium, Martin Scott, clinical physiotherapy specialist, UK and Anju Jaggi, clinical physiotherapy specialist, UK.
Feedback for all the sessions was very positive and the atmosphere in the hall was friendly encouraging discussion and questions. It was a great opportunity for both doctors and therapists to network across Europe and the success of the meeting has encouraged the likelihood of further meetings in collaboration with SECEC.
The EUSSER board wish to thank all invited speakers, and the local organising committee in Madrid for helping to make this a successful day.