Course Overview

Instructor: Ian Armstrong
Assisted by Brian Lau and Matt Callison

This 2-day cutting-edge course will teach the practitioner how to assess postural dysfunction and prescribe therapeutic exercises for postural, muscle and channel imbalances that have directly contributed to the patient's musculoskeletal injury. This course will teach the acupuncturist important skills to prescribe specific exercises in the management of their patient’s health care. Exercising different body parts simultaneously in specific and coordinated motions activates the myofascial sinew channels so that form and function can align. The practitioner will learn to integrate acupuncture protocols with exercise prescription, including how to use intra-dermal needle point prescriptions on the Extraordinary Vessel master points to alleviate discomfort, increase proprioception and enhance clinical outcomes.

This PACE course will build from what was taught in PACE (Module II) that focused on the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex and its relationship to the lower extremity and foot/ankle complex.

The remainder of this class will get the practitioner ready for information taught in Module IV: The Neck, Shoulder and Upper Extremity. The practitioner will learn to assess, through static and functional assessment techniques, postural disparities and associated muscle imbalances that can cause injury to these regions of the body.

Participants will learn how to effectively prescribe therapeutic exercises that will help balance ribcage, neck, shoulder and upper extremity imbalances.

Course Objectives

• The practitioner will learn visual assessment skills for postural imbalances.
• Participants will learn how to effectively prescribe therapeutic exercises that will help balance the foot and ankle disparities such as pes planus and neck shoulder imbalances such as forward head, forward shoulder, cervical rotation.
• The practitioner will learn to integrate acupuncture protocols with exercise, including intra-dermal needle prescriptions on the Extraordinary Vessel master points to alleviate discomfort, increase proprioception and enhance clinical outcomes.

Course Outline

0 hrs - 2 hrsIntroduction to PACE III. An overview of PACE II and III.

2 hrs - 4 hrsDiscussion of lower extremity injuries and pelvic imbalances. A sinew channel imbalance discussion affecting functional movement.

4 hrs - 6 hrsIntroduction to upper extremity postural and sinew channel imbalances and sinew channel.

6 hrs - 8 hrsDiscussion of upper extremity postural and sinew channel imbalances and functional movement.