The success of the Special Olympics
Healthy Athletes program, which includes the physical therapy fitness screening
FUNfitness, has led to a $12 million donation
to expand Special Olympics' health-related services and launch a new Healthy
Communities initiative. The donation, made by United States businessman and
philanthropist Tom Golisano, was announced
September 23 by former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative
event in New York City.
Healthy Athletes has provided free
health screenings and products to athletes for 15 years. In addition to
physical therapy screenings the program offers podiatry, better health and
well-being, audiology, sports, vision, and dental screenings. The donation will
allow FUNfitness to expand its efforts to develop and promote fitness
activities at the community level in a multitude of locations around the globe.
Healthy Communities' goal is to
achieve improved health outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities with
the ultimate goal of ensuring that all are receiving health services and are
able to reach their full potential. It will expand services to more athletes,
increase partnerships with local organizations, expand the use of technology,
and promote awareness of the health difficulties facing people with
intellectual disabilities. The program will be launched in 7 countries (Mexico,
Peru, Romania, Malawi, South Africa, Malaysia, and Thailand) and 6 states in
the US (Arizona, Florida, Kansas, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and New York). It will
build upon and broaden the scope of the current Healthy Athletes program.
Several APTA members have been instrumental in the success of FUNfitness
and the Healthy Athletes program. Donna
Bainbridge, PT, EdD, ATC, is global clinical advisor for FUNfitness and
Fitness Programming. Jim Gleason, PT, MS,
serves as FUNfitness research and education coordinator. Vicki Tilley, PT, GCS, is FUNfitness coordinator of Clinical
APTA developed FUNFitness, an assessment of
flexibility, functional strength, and balance created for athletes
participating in the Special Olympics, as an outgrowth of the North Carolina
Chapter's successful flexibility screening program created for the 1999 Special
For the past decade, APTA's Board of
Directors (Board) has sought feedback to provide critical information on the
public policy priorities and issues that are important to its members. This
feedback is used by APTA's Public Policy and Advocacy Committee to draft the
association's public policy priorities for consideration and refinement by the Board
at its November meeting. Please fill out the survey,
and send it to your colleagues to fill out.
Survey responses are due October 15.APTA will publish its public policy priorities
for the 113th Congress on its website and share them with its components by
January 1, 2013. Questions or requests for additional information should be
directed to Justin Moore, PT, DPT, APTA vice president of public
policy, practice, and professional affairs. Thank you for your participation in
On October 1 significant changes will occur
regarding the Medicare therapy cap exceptions process that will impact physical
therapists (PTs) and their patients. In order to help make the transition as
smooth as possible, APTA has developed a Medicare Therapy Cap Resources webpage. This webpage compiles relevant
information available from APTA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) in 1 place. The resource page includes:
Share this information and new resource with
your colleagues and staff.
E-mail questions to firstname.lastname@example.org.
Questions regarding the therapy cap also can be e-mailed directly to CMS at email@example.com.
Barefoot and minimalist shoe wearers
reported a more anterior footstrike than traditionally shod runners, say
authors of an article
that will be published in the October-December issue of the US Army Medical Department Journal.
Traditionally shod runners were more likely to report injuries of the lower
extremities than runners who wear minimalist shoes.
For this retrospective descriptive epidemiology survey, the authors
recruited 2,509 runners (1,254 male, 1,255 female) aged 18 to 50 to complete an
anonymous online survey. The survey assessed running tendencies, footstrike
patterns, shoe preferences, and injury history. Reported footstrike patterns
were compared among 3 shoe groups: traditionally shod, minimalist shoes, and
barefoot runners. Overall and specific anatomical injury incidence was compared
between traditionally shod and minimalist shoe-wearing runners. They did not
include 1,605 runners in the analyses due to incomplete data or recent changes
in footstrike patterns and/or shoe selection.
Shoe selection was significantly associated with reported footstrike (χ²
(4df) =143.4). Barefoot and minimalist runners reported a more anterior
footstrike than traditionally shod runners. Traditionally shod runners were
3.41 times more likely to report injuries than experienced minimalist shoe
wearers (46.7% shod vs 13.7% minimalist, χ² (1df) =77.4, n=888). Minimalist
shoe wearers also reported fewer injuries at the hip, knee, lower leg, ankle,
and foot than traditionally shod runners.
Additional longitudinal prospective research is required to examine injury
incidence among various footstrike patterns and shoe preferences, the authors
The article was written by APTA members Donald
L. Goss, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, ATC, and Michael
T. Gross, PT, PhD, FAPTA.
The President's Council on Fitness,
Sports, and Nutrition will phase out its Youth Fitness Test, which dates back to 1966, and
replace it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program. The comprehensive school-based
program employs the latest science and promotes health and physical activity
for America's youth. This voluntary program represents a significant change in
how schools and parents approach kids' physical fitness. Instead of recognizing
athletic performance, the new program assesses students' health-related fitness
and helps them progress over time.
The Presidential Youth Fitness Program minimizes comparisons between
children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals
for lifelong health. By adopting the program, schools gain access to a robust
selection of resources
to promote lifelong physical activity: web-based access to test protocol,
standards for testing, calculators for aerobic capacity and body composition,
promotion of PALA+, online training, school recognition programs, and
Key to the
success of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program is the expertise and
resources provided by partnering organizations, which include:
Summit 2013: Collaborative Care Models will bring together innovators and
thought leaders from physical therapy, health policy, payment, and other health
professions to explore the role of physical therapists in new models of health
care delivery and payment. Participation in the summit will be available to all
members through live web streaming. Attendance onsite will be limited to
speakers, panelists, and invited attendees, including the member innovators
selected through this nomination process.
sections, chapters, and the Student Assembly are each invited to nominate a
member who is involved in an innovative model of care to attend and participate
in the Summit, to be held March 7-8, 2013, in the Washington, DC area. A panel
of member experts will select 20 member innovators to share their
practice models as a part of the Summit. Those selected will receive free
registration and a stipend for travel and lodging expenses. Chapters and
sections whose nominees are selected will receive special recognition during
deadline for nominations is Monday, October 22. More information about the
Summit is available at www.apta.org/innovationsummit. Components can direct questions
about the nomination process to firstname.lastname@example.org.