This course is designed to convey the foundational knowledge required to engage cervical and joint pain management advanced NSPM clinical practice. The goals of the course are to examine the anatomy, physical exam tests and NSPM procedural interventions directed at the cervical and joint region.

Saturday May 3, 2025
University of Arizona Campus
Tucson AZ
10 CEs

7:30-8:00 (0.5 CE)
Course introduction: Cadaver Lab Safety, Expectations, Getting Started with Cervical and joint NSPM Procedures.

• Examine and illustrate proper cadaver lab safety and requirements while participating in the lab.

• Discuss the specific skill set needed to begin adding cervical and joint procedures to a NSPM service line.

8:00-9:00 (1.0 CE)
Understanding the cervical anatomical region and interpreting Ultrasound and Fluoroscopic imaging of the region.

• Examine and illustrate the fluoroscopic and ultrasound imaging in the cervical region.

• Discuss optimized approaches to patient specific anatomical variances.

9:00-10:00 (1.0 CE)
Cadaver Lab:
Cervical Interlaminar Epidural Steroid Injections

• Verbalize an understanding of the cervical interlaminar trajectory, how to establish a quality fluoroscopic view and determine optimal needle insertion.

• Perform interlaminar injections in the cervical region

11:00-12:00 (1.0 CE)
Cadaver Lab:
Cervical Medial Branch Block and Intraarticular Facet trajectories

• Verbalize an understanding of the cervical region medial branch and intra-articular facet injection trajectory, how to establish a quality fluoroscopic view and determine optimal needle insertion.

• Perform Medial branch and intra-articular injections in the cervical region.

12:00-13:00 (1.0 Pharm CE)
Working Lunch: Discuss current trends in drugs used for NSPM procedures of the cervical region. Focus on local anesthetics, steroids, and adjuncts.

• Examine and discuss the current recommendations for steroid type and composition for epidural steroid injections.

• Discuss the pharmacological considerations of local anesthetic and steroid choice for NSPM procedures

13:00-14:00 (1 CE)
Physical examination of the upper extremities and joints (shoulders/hips/knees) for detecting potential cervical and thoracic pathology.

• Illustrate physical assessment tests for detecting potential cervical pathology

• Demonstrate physical exam tests, reflex assessment, classification, and red flag findings with assessment of the upper extremities and joints.

14:00-15:00 (1 CE)
Cervical and joints (hip/knee/shoulder) hands-on physical exam workshop.

• Illustrate and perform a variety of cervical/thoracic region and joints physical exam tests and reflex assessments.

• Participant explanation of physical exam test purpose and potential pathology intended to detect.

15:00-17:00 (2 CE)
Cadaver Lab
Cervical Radiofrequency Ablative Techniques

• Examine and illustrate cervical facet radiofrequency ablation techniques, optimized needle trajectories and terminal needle placement

• Illustrate and discuss various techniques for achieving optimized terminal trajectories with variable cervical anatomical considerations.

17:00-17:30 (0.5 CE)
Open Discussion with instructors: Physical Exam Review and Cadaver Lab Practice/Review

• Opportunity to discuss topics from the course for all participants.

• Opportunity to follow up with any physical exam, cadaver trajectory questions

Sunday May 4, 2025
University of Arizona Campus
Tucson AZ
7 CEs

8:00-9:00 (1.0 CE)
Cadaver Lab
Cervical Stellate Ganglion Blocks: Fluoroscopy and Ultrasound Guided Approaches

• Examine and verbalize an understanding of the cervical stellate ganglion trajectory with fluoroscopic and ultrasound guided techniques, how to establish a quality fluoroscopic/ultrasound view and determine optimal needle insertion and terminal needle position.

• Discuss cervical stellate ganglion troubleshooting and recommended injectate.

• Demonstrate image acquisition and perform cervical stellate ganglion needle placements with fluoroscopy and ultrasound.

9:00-10:30 (1.5 CE) Cadaver Lab
Hip Joint management

• Verbalize an understanding of the anatomy associated with the hip joint and common pain generators.

• Discuss how to establish a quality fluoroscopic/ultrasound view and determine optimal needle insertion and safe terminal needle position.

• Demonstrate image acquisition and perform intra-articular injections, bursal injections and fluoroscopy and ultrasound for testing and ablative techniques.

10:30-12:00 (1.5 CEU)
Cadaver Lab
Knee Joint Interventional Management

• Verbalize an understanding of the anatomy associated with the knee joint and common pain generators.

• Discuss how to establish a quality fluoroscopic/ultrasound view and determine optimal needle insertion and safe terminal needle position.

• Demonstrate image acquisition and perform intra-articular injections, bursal injections and fluoroscopy and ultrasound for testing and ablative techniques.

12:00-13:00 (1.0 CEU)
Optimized Radiofrequency Ablation: Local Anesthetics, steroids, post procedural medication considerations and Anesthesia Delarosa (post RFA neuralgia).

• Examine and discuss the current recommendations for local anesthetic, steroid type and composition for optimized radiofrequency ablation.

• Discuss the pharmacological considerations for post procedural management of potential post RFA adverse effects.

13:00-15:00 (2.0 CEU)
Cadaver Lab
Shoulder Joint Interventional Management

• Verbalize an understanding of the anatomy associated with the shoulder joint and common pain generators.

• Discuss how to establish a quality fluoroscopic/ultrasound view and determine optimal needle insertion and safe terminal needle position.

• Demonstrate image acquisition and perform intra-articular injections, bursal injections and fluoroscopy and ultrasound for testing and ablative techniques.

Pre-Course Webinars and Online CEU Content

Dates Subject to change: Full Disclosure, I have 2 teenagers playing sports and the schedules are not finalized. I plan to kick these off at 6pm MST on the dates below. If something changes all webinars will be available for review prior to the course. They will be available and emailed to participants as the lectures are designed to bolster the pre-course foundational knowledge.

Scott Rigdon

April 16
Managing Chronic Joint Pain: Shoulders, Hip and knee chronic pain through procedural intervention. Intra-Articular injections through radiofrequency ablation of sensory innervation.

• Examine and verbalize an understanding of the cervical region pain generators.

• Discuss cervical region interventional strategies, outcomes and optimized procedural pathways.

April 23
Cervical Region Ablative Techniques: Optimized pain generation testing and radiofrequency ablation of cervical pain generators cervical facet syndrome pain.

• Examine and verbalize an understanding of the cervical region pain generators, appropriate testing, and radiofrequency ablative techniques

• Discuss cervical region radiofrequency interventional strategies, outcomes and optimized procedural pathways.

April 30
Cervical Stellate Ganglion Blocks: Understanding the appropriate use of stellate ganglion blocks and the utilization of imaging techniques to safely approach the terminal trajectory.

• Examine and verbalize an understanding of the cervical stellate ganglion blocks.

• Discuss cervical stellate ganglion block interventional strategies withfluoroscopy/ultrasound, outcomes and optimized procedural pathways.

• Examine and discuss the foundational underpinnings of x-ray imaging from a technological perspective.

• Illustrate the recommended safe practices when working with clinical x-ray imaging

• Describe the pharmacological profile of common steroid used in NSPM practice

• Discuss the controversy related to non-particulate and particulate steroids in NPSM practice

Introduction to MRI interpretation Part 1

• Describe and illustrate the basic physics of MRI, image optimization and modes/sequences to optimize imaging by anatomical region

• Define and recognize the normal anatomy in the lumbar, thoracic and cervical spines and compare to common types of pathology

• Discuss and differentiate between normal and abnormal MRI findings in the neuraxial region and how this correlates to patient presentation.