Last weekend, Principle Four Osteopath Shaun Coghlan completed Lyn Watson’s Level 1 Shoulder Course. The course offered practitioners the opportunity to gain extensive clinical and research insights into the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of the shoulder and shoulder girdle.

Dr Lyn Watson is a clinical manipulative and sports physiotherapist who has been working exclusively in the management of shoulder injuries for the past 25 years. She is the specialist shoulder physiotherapy consultant to a variety of national and international teams and individual athletes. Lyn has also published comprehensive research on areas such as multidirectional instability, frozen shoulder & hydrodilatation, thoracic outlet syndrome, glenohumeral joint instability, and scapula biomechanics.

Lyn’s approach to assessing the shoulder girdle is unique in that she closely observes the resting position, movement patterns and dynamic control of the scapula and humeral head. She will then use this information to see if the patient’s shoulder symptoms are amenable to change when correcting aberrant scapula/humeral head position and dyskinesia. This assessment strategy forms the base for her treatment and rehabilitation programing. 

Lyn focused on three main categories of shoulder pathology – shoulder instability, the stiff shoulder and rotator cuff pathology. The different subgroups of each pathology were discussedincluding the typical presentation, assessment findings, and management plans. As part of Lyn’s management, she demonstrated several mobilisation, hands‐on treatment, and taping techniques as well as discussing the role of hydrodilatation and steroid injections.

Throughout the course there was constant referral to what is and is not substantiated by research to ensure evidence-based practice. Lyn also shared her research regarding her rehabilitation program for multidirectional instability, which has recently been validated in a randomised controlled trial.

The course included a detailed discussion and demonstration of Lyn’s structured rehabilitation programme integrating:

  • Scapula stabilisation.
  • Rotator cuff recruitment and strengthening.
  • Dynamic stabilisation of the humeral head.
  • Deltoid strengthening.
  • Progression of strengthening.
  • How to tailor rehabilitation to different patients’ ages, pathologies and processes.

It was a pleasure to attend Lyn’s Level 1 Shoulder Course and witness her extensive knowledge and experience in treating shoulder injuries. The course has provided further insight into the assessment, diagnosis and management of shoulder injuries, which is sure to benefit our patients. Next up will be Lyn Watson’s Level 2 Shoulder Course!

Blog Post Written by P4O Osteopath Shaun Coghlan.

Shaun Coghlan osteopath is available for osteopathy consultations at Principle Four Osteopathy on Monday afternoons and Wednesday afternoons. Read more about Shaun by clicking here. Book online to see Shaun by clicking here.

Shaun Coghlan P4O
P4O Osteopath Shaun Coghlan