Compliance with therapeutic exercise programs is generally poor, with over 70% of (low back) patients failing to perform their prescribed exercises. One of the many reasons for this poor compliance may be the frequent use of an internal focus exercise approach, which is often experienced as boring, repetitive, pointless, and non-productive. This course will challenge current belief systems about exercise and the way you practice and prescribe therapeutic exercise. This brief session integrates contemporary research, including the OPTIMAL Theory of Motor Learning, exergaming technology, and pain science into a new therapeutic conditioning and exercise method using primarily an external-focus approach. Compared to internal focus exercise programs, directed at the performer’s own body movements, external focus programs, directed at the effects of movement on the environment, have immediate beneficial effects on performance, retention, and transfer. Improvements are observed in movement effectiveness and efficiency, self-efficacy, confidence, automaticity of control, and overall cognitive function.

Jan Dommerholt, PT, DPT, President/CEO of Myopain Seminars shares his insight and expertise on "External-Focus Exercise & Exergaming."

What to expect: 

Objectives: 

By the end of this lecture participants will be able to:

• Discuss three main aspects of the OPTIMAL Theory of Motor Learning


• Describe four advantages of an external-focus exergaming approach


• Design individualized external-focus exercise programs for patients of all ages


• Contrast four essential differences between internal and external - focus exercise programs

About the Speaker

Jan Dommerholt, PT, DPT, President/CEO of Myopain Seminars

Dr. Jan Dommerholt is co-founder and president/CEO of Myopain Seminars. His early career mentors included Drs. Janet Travell, David Simons, Robert Gerwin, Richard S. Materson, Karel Lewit, and Peter Baldry, among others. Together with Robert Gerwin, Jan started teaching dry needling courses in 1996, first in Spain and from 1997 onwards also in the USA. Jan is a Dutch-trained physical therapist who holds a Master of Professional Studies degree with a concentration in both Biomechanical Trauma and Healthcare Administration from Lynn University, and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. Dr. Dommerholt has taught hundreds of courses and lectured at over 80 conferences throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East while maintaining an active clinical practice. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy, Cuestiones de Fisioterapia, and the Journal of Invasive Therapies in Physical Therapy. Jan is an Honorary Member of the Iranian Physiotherapy Association and of the Polish Association of Invasive Physiotherapy. In 2016, he received the Janet G. Travell Excellence in Education Award from the National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists. The American Physical Therapy Association recognized his achievements by awarding him the 2014 Henry O. and Florence P. Kendall Practice Award.

Dr. Dommerholt has edited several books on myofascial pain, dry needling, and manual physical therapy, authored about 80 book chapters, and more than 140 articles on dry needling, myofascial pain, external-focus exercise, fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, and performing arts physical therapy. From 2004 through 2021, he prepared a quarterly literature review column on myofascial pain initially with Dr. David Simons for the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain followed by the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies with a variety of co-authors. He is president/CEO of Bethesda Physiocare® in Bethesda, MD (www.bethesdaphysiocare.com).

This program was originally recorded October 16, 2023.

You can even earn 2 hours of CE:  

1. Purchase the recording by visiting IPTA's Virtual Library . (FREE FOR IPTA MEMBERS / CE Subscribers - log in to ipta.org so it knows who you are!) Non-member cost is $45. You can earn 1-2 hours of CE, depending on the length of program.


2. Once your transaction is completed, you will receive an email with a link to download a document containing a link to the online recording AND a link to a quiz to complete after you view the recording.


3. Watch the recording and complete the quiz. If you score 80% or better, you will receive an email notification of your CE award.  If you are an IPTA member/ CE Subscriber, your CE award will also post in your membership profile under Professional Development. If you are not yet a member, an CE certificate will be emailed to you within 7-10 business days.