ISM for the Thorax, Pelvis & Hips – Part 1 of the ISM Series

Course Schedule

Have you ever wondered if the practice changing course ‘The ISM Series’ is for you, but either the timing, or price, hasn’t been suitable? Here is your opportunity to ‘sample’ some, or all, of the ISM Series in a flexible format.  Usually, the ISM Series has to be taken all in one year (usually over 6-8 months).  Next year, in BC only, I am offering the opportunity to just take one of the first two parts. Those who sign up for both will qualify to attend the third part. All of the material (both the extensive online directed home study (more info below) and the in person content offered in 2025 is exactly the same as in the ISM Series, the only difference is that there will not be a forum or chat room with the courses offered next year.

Course Objectives – Part 1

Part 1 applies the ISM approach to the thorax, pelvis and hips and sets the stage for understanding the principles of finding drivers.

Increasingly, scientific evidence suggests that function of the pelvis is essential for the performance of almost every task. However, how do we know if the loss of pelvic function is the cause of the patient’s primary complaint (the criminal) or merely the victim of an impairment elsewhere. How do we know if the loss of function of the thorax is the cause of the loss of pelvic function? How do we know if the relationship between the thorax & the pelvis is responsible for the failure of the lumbar spine to transfer loads optimally?

The restoration of function and performance depends on being able to identify and treat the underlying source of the problem and it is common to find the pelvis as the criminal in some cases and the victim in others. The same is true for the thorax. Do you have a way of knowing when to treat the pelvis, when to treat the thorax, when to treat the lumbar spine and when to look elsewhere?

This course will introduce the functional interplay between the thorax and the lumbopelvic-hip region and how the current Integrated Systems Model can facilitate the understanding and interpretation of each patient’s unique clinical picture to determine:

1. How to develop an assessment that ‘cuts to the chase’ choosing only meaningful tasks/tests that pertain to the story being told. All stories are unique; there are no protocols or recipes in the ISM approach for any impairment or pain pattern.
2. Where the criminal is i.e. the primary driver. When there are multiple regions that are impaired, how do you determine which one should be the focus of your intervention? Is this a hip problem that is causing the pelvic joints to lose control and become painful (or alternately a thorax or foot problem), or is the impairment intrinsic to the pelvis itself (i.e. stiff SIJ or altered motor control of pelvic floor/transversus abdominis – a pelvic driven pelvis)?
3. Is the persistent over-use of the hamstring or adductor muscles causing the loss of pelvic control or is the muscle imbalance driven by factors far distant
4. When to choose specific system tests (articular, neural, myofascial, visceral, physiological etc) to further identify the cause and effect of various impairments within and between regions of the body so you are able to ‘do the right thing at the right time’.

Clinical reasoning of multiple findings and manual and visual assessment and treatment skills are emphasized in this course with plenty of practical time/discussion devoted to these two clinical practice tools.

At the conclusion of this course, you will have new skills to assess function of the trunk (from the 3rd thoracic ring to the hips) and understand how various impairments impact function of the pelvis and the thorax as well as skills to perform segmental thoracic, pelvic and hip analysis for mobility and control. You will understand how to design a multimodal treatment program (including education, manual therapy, neuromuscular release, and movement training) to restore function and performance for any patient (from postpartum moms to elite level athletes) since the principles of the ISM approach are applicable to all groups of patients.

Course Format

The ISM Series is both an online home study and in person course (4 days each part in 2025). Two textbooks are a required purchase The Pelvic Girdle 2011 4th edition (Elsevier publisher) and the Thorax – An Integrated Approach 2018 (Handspring publisher) since the home study includes required reading from these texts. The online prep is on the www.learnwithdianelee.com website (which you will be given an account to and in your account we will put the Part 1 Prep/Support material) and includes:

1. the assigned reading from these texts as well as provided articles
2. watching the 2 hour online lecture on the fundamental principles of ISM
3. reading the ISM assessment flow – the structure of the assessment

Then we will meet for 4 days to acquire the clinical skills to find the necessary findings for pelvic, hip, thoracic alignment, biomechanics and control since you cannot interpret a finding you cannot find and this is difficult to teach online!

Following this, as part of the Part 1 support online material you will have:

1. 3 hours of short videos that review all of the lab material covered (assessment, treatment (release, dry needling, mobilization), training (3 stages of motor control training) in the course
2. more articles and pages from the Pelvic Girdle and Thorax books to read
3. 4 video cases takes from previous courses to integrate, clinically reason and review the material taught.
4. The 4 hour Abdominal Wall and DRA course which will take you further into the research Diane has done with Prof. Paul Hodges on DRA, the assessment, treatment and training for those with DRA. This is more than we cover in person on the course and it is yours as part of your tuition.
5. If you apply to both Part 1 and 2, you will also receive an online course titled the ISM Flow which contains over 440 videos from head to toe applying ISM to all parts of the body

All of this online material is yours to keep for as long as the website exists. No subscription fees required.

This is an advanced course; however, new grads have done very well with it as long as they have an ISM practitioner in their clinic to provide mentorship.

To see what we will cover in Part 2 click here 

If you apply to the first 2 parts you will also receive the 440 short video package called the ISM Flow which is essentially ISM from Head to Toe! It is the package put together for ISM Graduates and is now being used to support each part of the ISM journey.

Course Registration

Registration is by application form submission and the form allows you to choose Part 1, 2 or both and outlines the tuition for each part and in combination. If you take both Part 1 and 2, you will qualify for Part 3 and there will be a discount (amount to be determined based on response).

Course is limited to 12-14 people this year – small group for more direct contact for this advanced learning.

Remember, this course is ONLY for physiotherapists – no exceptions next year.