2023 will be the 7th Annual APTA Arkansas OPTimize Conference. 

CEUs are pre-approved by the APTA AR for 6.0 contact hours on Oct. 7 and 3.0 contact hours for Oct. 8.  The BOC has pre-approved up to  contacts for athletic trainers.  Please see designated courses for ATC hours.

Friday, October 6, 2023

2:00pm—5:00pm  ArPTA Board Meeting— Wyndham Riverfront  Executive Boardroom

Saturday, October 7, 2023

7:00 a.m.—8:00a.m. Exhibitor Move to the Razorback Room

8:00 a.m.—8:30 a.m. Registration—Foyer

8:00 a.m.—8:30 a.m. Refreshments with Vendors—Razorback Room

8:30 a.m.—8:45 a.m. General Session—Silver City Ballroom 5,6, & 7 -Bill Taylor

8:45 a.m.—10:15 a.m. Breakout Sessions

• Silver City 1& 2— The Human Movement System: Utilizing a Movement-Based Evaluation and Treatment Plan, speaker  Michael Voight, PT, DHSc, OCS, SCS, ATC, CSCS, FAPTA
• Silver City 5 & 6— Exercise Intensity in Older Adults Across Mobility Levels: How Much is Enough? speaker Heidi Moyer, PT, DPT 
• Silver City 7 —  The Frozen Shoulder, speaker Paul Mintken, PT, DPT

10:15 a.m.– 10:45am Poster Presentations in Foyer and Vendor Break in Razorback East

10:45 a.m.—12:15pm Breakout Sessions

• • • Silver City 1 & 2—Raising the Bar in Concussion Rehabilitation, speaker Becky Bliss, DPT, DHSc, PT
    • Silver City 5 & 6—Stepping to Stomping to Stairs to Sprinting: The Development of Gait Across Childhood, speaker Dora Gosselin, PT, PhD, DPT, PCS, cNDT
    • Silver City 7 — Platforms

12:15p.m.-1:15pm Student  SIG —  Silver City 1 & 2

12:15 p.m.– 1:15 p.m. Lunch on own for everyone else

1:15 p.m. - 1:30 pm  Visit with Vendors before returning to class in the Razorback Room

1:30 p.m.—3:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions

• Silver City 1& 2— 
• The Human Movement System: Utilizing a Movement-Based Evaluation and Treatment Plan, speaker  Michael Voight, PT, DHSc, OCS, SCS, ATC, CSCS, FAPTA
• Silver City 5 & 6— Exercise Intensity in Older Adults Across Mobility Levels: How Much is Enough? speaker Heidi Moyer, PT, DPT 
• Silver City 7 —  The Frozen Shoulder, speaker Paul Mintken, PT, DPT

3:00 p.m.—3:30p.m. Break with Vendors in the Razorback Room

3:30 p.m—5:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions

• Silver City I & II— Raising the Bar in Concussion Rehabilitation, speaker Becky Bliss, DPT, DHSc, PT
• Silver City 5 & 6—Stepping to Stomping to Stairs to Sprinting: The Development of Gait Across Childhood, speaker Dora Gosselin, PT, PhD, DPT, PCS, cNDT
• Silver City 7 — Platforms

5:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m. Silver City 1 & 2—ArPTA Business Meeting

6:30p.m.—9:00 p.m. Silver City VII - PAC Carnival Midway Fundraiser—RSVP to [email protected] requested but not required.  Ticket pricing will be up soon. Sponsorships are available for students who wish to attend.

Sunday, October 8, 2023—

Featured Speaker: Translating Evidence into Practice through Clinical Cases, speaker Becky Bliss, DPT, DHSc, PT 

 — Silver City 

Featured Speaker: Are We Missing the Important PART? Targeting Participatory Goals in Pediatric Rehabilitation, speaker Dora Gosselin, PT, PhD, DPT, PCS, cNDT 

—Silver City I

   8:00 a.m.—8:30 a.m. Registration in Foyer & Refreshments with Vendors in Razorback Room

  8:30 a.m.—10:00 a.m. Class

10:00 a.m.—10:15 a.m. Break with Vendors in Razorback Room

10:15 a.m.—11:45a.m Class

Speaker Bios

Becky Bliss, DPT, DHSc, PT is a Clinical Assistant Teaching Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of Missouri and is a board certified in Neurological Physical Therapy. She also serves the role of Program Coordinator for the Neurological Physical Therapy Residency.  She holds her Certificate in Vestibular Rehabilitation from the APTA, as well as Advanced Vestibular Certificate. Becky graduated from Ithaca College Department of Physical Therapy with a combined undergraduate-graduate Master of Physical Therapy in 2001.  She completed her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Des Moines University in 2014 and her Doctor of Health Science from the University of Indianapolis in 2019.  Becky has been actively practicing in the field of physical therapy for 22 years with specialization in concussion management since 2006.  Her research interests include dysfunction of the vestibular ocular reflex following mild traumatic brain injury as well as early detection of impairments that lead to post-concussion syndrome and currently has several active studies specific to higher level motor control deficit identification in the sport athlete.   Becky is active within the Academy of Neurological Physical Therapy and serves on the Knowledge Translation Committee for the Concussion CPG as well as is part of the core committee of the APTA Concussion CPG Revision group. 

Dora Gosselin, PT, PhD, DPT, PCS, cNDT, 

is an ABPTS Board Certified pediatric physical therapist, an educator and a clinical researcher. After undergraduate studies in Kinesiology at California State University, Sacramento, she earned a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Duke University. Dr. Gosselin completed her PhD at the University of Otago where she studied The Impact of Unpredictability on the Biomechanical Variables of Gait and Mobility-Based Participation of Children with Cerebral Palsy. Dr. Gosselin has presented nationally and internationally and is active in leadership roles within her professional organizations. She is a previous recipient of the Duke University Excellence in Teaching Award and Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy Dissertation Award. Dr. Gosselin is currently the Clinical Services Manager for Pediatric Rehabilitation at Duke University Health System and is adjunct faculty in the Doctor of Physical Therapy at High Point University.

Heidi Moyer, PT, DPT -  As a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy (GCS) and a Certified Exercise Expert in Aging Adults (CEEAA), Heidi is the Program Director for the Evidence in Motion Geriatric Certification Program. Dr. Moyer is a current full-time Assistant Clinical Professor in the Angelo State University Doctor of Physical Therapy program and has previous experience teaching continuing education for Evidence in Motion, Illinois Physical Therapy Association, and for conferences such as National Student Conclave and Combined Sections Meeting. Their clinical experience includes inpatient rehab, home health, long-term acute care hospital, skilled nursing facility, and outpatient physical therapy. Heidi is an active APTA Geriatrics member, serving as a leader in multiple roles for APTA Geriatrics with the State Advocate Program and Balance and Falls Special Interest Group (BFSIG) as well as for the Illinois Physical Therapy Association, where they are the active chair of the IPTA Geriatric Special Interest Group (GeriSIG). Heidi was the recipient of the APTA Geriatrics President’s Award in 2020 and the APTA Emerging Leader Award in 2019 and looks forward to continuing to push the boundaries for care for older adults in all settings.

Michael Voight, PT, DHSc, OCS, SCS, ATC, CSCS, FAPTA, has had a distinguished career as both an educator and clinical physical therapist for over 30 years. Throughout his career he has not only become one of the leading authorities in the rehabilitation of orthopedic and sports injuries, but he has also worked tirelessly to advance the knowledge of others as a clinician and educator by making significant contributions to the literature.

Presently, Dr. Voight is a tenured professor with Belmont University’s School of Physical Therapy in Nashville TN. He also holds the position of Adjunct Associate Professor in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine – Department of Orthopedics where he is the Co-Director of the Vanderbilt/Belmont Sports Physical Therapy Residency program.   Additionally, Dr. Voight is the Residency Director for the Belmont-Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance/Tennessee Titans sport clinical residency.  Dr. Voight is recognized as a clinician of the highest caliber and has worked with a number of high-profile athletic organizations.  Throughout his career, Dr. Voight has served as a Team Physical Therapist for teams in both the NFL and NBA.  In addition, Dr. Voight has consulted with various teams in MLB, NHL and the MLS.  Dr. has been active with the United States Olympic Committee's Sports Medicine Division. He has worked at the Olympic Training Center, Olympic Festivals, Pan Am Games, Olympic Games, and has had the opportunity to travel to almost all of the different continents with various Olympic and national teams.  Dr. Voight still maintains a clinical practice specializing in orthopedic and sports related injuries, particularly with PGA tour players.  His role with the advisory board of the Titleist Performance Institute allows him to consult on the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of golf injuries with many noted golf professionals. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Voight has been very active in developing clinical functional movement assessments for both prevention of injury and evaluation of injury.  These clinical systems are recognized internationally as one standard for evaluating movement.  As one of the co-founders of the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), his passion for assessing and training the human movement system continues to evolve.  He has served on the APTA movement system task force to further define the human movement system and develop a framework for promoting and integrating the concept of the human movement system into physical therapy practice, education, and research.

Dr. Voight has lectured extensively at various conferences, symposiums, and congresses both nationally and internationally, having given over 950 professional presentations on a variety of orthopedic and sports medicine topics. Dr Voight holds a senior teaching position for the North American Institute of Sports Physical Therapy (www.rehabeducation.com).  Dr. Voight is a principal reviewer for many journals and actively resides on the editorial boards of several different journals including the prestigious American Journal of Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine.  He played an instrumental role in the development of the North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy and is currently the Executive Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy.  He has authored over 90 papers, textbook chapters on various topics, and has written four textbooks on functional exercise. During his career, he has been awarded the Distinguished Educator Award from the Sports Physical Therapy Section three times making him the only person to have been presented this award multiple times and in 2010 he was presented with the inaugural SPTS “Lifetime Excellence in Education Award”.   Additionally, he has been awarded the Tennessee Educator of the year twice. 

Dr. Paul Mintken, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT, lives in Denver, CO and is a Professor in the DPT education program at Hawai'i Pacific University (HPU). Prior to HPU, Dr. Mintken was faculty in the DPT Program at the University of Colorado. Dr. Mintken is a board-certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist and a Fellow in the American Academy of Orthopaedic and Manual Physical Therapists.  Dr. Mintken has received the APTA Excellence in Academic Teaching Award, the Excellence in Teaching Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Award, the Rose Research Award, the JOSPT Research Award, the Chattanooga Research Award, and the Outstanding Physical Therapist Award for the State of Colorado.  Dr. Mintken has over 60 peer reviewed articles. He remains clinically active as a physical therapist at Wardenburg Health Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.

* Keynote Speakers on Sunday

Rehab Net is BOC approved. to offer continuing education for Certified Athletic Trainers. This program has been approved for a maximum of 7.5 hours of Category A continuing education. Certified Athletic Trainers are responsible for claiming only those hours actually spent participating in the CE activity.                 

BOC Approved Provider Number #3532