Advances in Balance Diagnosis and Treatment: Part 2
Presented by Andrea E. Ecsedy
Clinicians often struggle to bridge the gap between complex productivity standards and the seamless integration of evidence-based practice into balance rehabilitation. This course provides a workable, efficient methodology for evaluating and treating individuals with balance dysfunction, using motor skill acquisition (MSA) principles as the primary framework. Participants will explore the critical role of feedback, specifically external focus, and learn why addressing alignment and vestibular “miscalibrations” like BPPV is a prerequisite for effective training. By applying these concepts to diverse clinical cases—ranging from peripheral neuropathy to Parkinson’s disease—providers will gain the reasoning skills necessary to move beyond generic interventions toward prescriptive, impairment-driven treatment plans.
Learning Outcomes
- Integrate motor skill–acquisition concepts into balance prescriptions for individuals with balance dysfunction
- Coordinate clinical reasoning strategies to select appropriate interventions tailored to specific patient impairments
- Formulate an evidence-based treatment plan based on a clinically relevant balance diagnosis to improve functional daily activities
- Assess case scenarios for patients with balance dysfunction to determine appropriate clinical interventions
Meet your instructor
Andrea E. Ecsedy
Andrea Ecsedy, PT, DPT, NCS, is a board-certified specialist in neurologic physical therapy with over 40 years of clinical experience. Her clinical focus includes balance and vestibular dysfunction, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurologic diseases. She has taught as adjunct faculty in several university physical…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Motor Skill–Acquisition Concepts
This chapter frames balance as a motor skill and details how principles of experience-dependent plasticity should dictate intervention design. It emphasizes the importance of feedback types, specifically comparing internal versus external focus, to optimize the “big hitters” of rehabilitation: salience, intensity, and specificity.
2. Domain-Specific Treatment Suggestions
Moving beyond “standing on foam,” this section provides concrete treatment ideas for specific balance domains, including dual-tasking, reactive postural control, and sensory reweighting. Clinicians will learn to utilize autonomous support and enhanced expectancies to improve patient confidence and outcomes.
3. Case Scenarios and Knowledge Application
This chapter utilizes a systematic checklist to analyze four distinct patient cases to ensure assessments are comprehensive and treatments are prescriptive. By auditing real-world scenarios, participants practice identifying missing assessment data and formulating targeted plans for complex patients.
4. Additional Demonstration Examples
In this chapter, we’ll include additional demonstration examples for balance assessment.
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