CSM 2025 just happened earlier this month. What is CSM, you may be wondering? Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) is the "largest and most dynamic professional development for physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, educators, researchers, students, and industry professionals," per the CSM website. The conference is held every year, usually in February, and the location changes annually. The 50th conference was held in Houston in 2025, with last year's conference held in Boston.
I was fortunate enough to visit CSM once when I was a student and once when I was a licensed physical therapist. Technically, I also registered for CSM early on in the pandemic when the APTA offered the conference completely virtual.
There were two options for Houston's conference: in-person or virtual. The in-person dates for CSM were February 13th through the 15th. The virtual or "on-demand" option becomes available March 14th until April 14th. With on-demand, you have the option to either earn up to 1.2 CEUs or forgo the CEU portion to just watch and learn from the videos.
I plan on registering for the on-demand option. As much as I'd like to visit Houston as I've never been there before, as well as soak in all the new knowledge from the conference, it just didn't fit into my schedule for this year. Not only that, but the on-demand option is really nice for allowing me to access sessions that I might not have been able to see due to conflicting times as sometimes the sessions I want to see are on at the same time. I tend to go to pelvic health sessions, as that is my specialty, but if two interesting pelvic sessions are scheduled at the same time and I'm doing the in-person option, I have to make a decision between the two (or three!). Alas, unlike in quantum physics, I cannot exist in two places at the same time. Potentially, a work around for this is using the virtual option after the conference is over to check out any sessions that I missed.
When it comes to the on-demand option, there are a few downsides to registering for that instead of going in person. Not every session that interests me will be available on it. There is a session under Federal Physical Therapy called 'Human Performance in Extreme Environments: The Effects of Spaceflight during Long-Duration, International Space Station Missions.' That sounds so interesting! The panel was composed of experts from NASA, including a flight surgeon and a physical therapist from the Air Force. Alas, this session is not available for on-demand. Another downside is not being able to go to the exhibition hall and see the latest devices and technology to help current and future patients. I've always enjoyed exploring the exhibition hall.
There are quite a few sessions for the Houston CSM on-demand that I've made a note to check out once the content is available. My patient population are women and men of all adult age ranges for pelvic and lymphedema conditions, so those were the sessions I made a note to watch. Some of the sessions are:
Unpacking the Ache. A Lifespan Approach to Navigating Hip Pain in Pelvic Health
"This session offers a contemporary overview of hip pain conditions throughout the female lifespan, tailored specifically for the pelvic health physical therapist. Attendees will gain insights into clinical identification of bony and soft tissue disorders, with a focus on understanding the hormonal influence on these conditions. The session will explore differential diagnostic strategies, the role and use of imaging, and discuss management perspectives that consider underlying morphology and post-operative technique. The primary focus will emphasize treating hip pain after systemic and local pelvic health contributions have been identified and/or addressed, ensuring a more holistic full-person approach that targets hip-specific symptom drivers. Drawing from the latest evidence-based practices, this session will assist the pelvic health therapist in maximizing treatment outcomes while also recognizing prognostic factors that impact terminal outcome expectations for their patients with hip pain."
End-Stage Heart Failure in the Transgender Population: Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Gender-Affirming Care
"This session will discuss cardiovascular risk factors, describe gender-affirming care in the transgender population, analyze gender-based outcome measures, and explain the physical therapy plan of care for a transgender patient with end-stage heart failure undergoing work-up for advanced therapies. There are traditional and non-traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease that contribute to end-stage heart failure. Work-up for either a heart transplantation or left ventricular assist device includes a unique hospital-based PT Evaluation (Advanced Heart Failure Frailty Assessment) to assess the patient’s strength, balance, and endurance with common outcome measures. This Frailty Assessment uses grip strength with a hand dynamometer and the Enright calculation for Six Minute Walk Test to determine rehabilitation needs and create PT goals. However, these outcome measures utilize normative values based on gender assigned at birth. How are these values to be used in a transgender patient? Approximately 1% of the nation’s adult population, or 2.6 million Americans, identify as transgender. Standards of care for the transgender population include gender-affirming hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery which have been established in the medical community. We will use a case study of a transgender male with end-stage heart failure to explore the impact of gender-affirming care, cardiovascular risk factors, and the use of gender-based outcome measures on the PT plan of care."
Let's Talk about the Urethra
"Urethral symptoms can affect all age groups, all races, and all genders. There are multiple etiologies, and symptoms can co-exist with, be confused with, or be misdiagnosed as conditions with similar presentations, such as interstitial cystitis or prostatitis. Proposed etiologies include pelvic floor dysfunction, sensory dysfunction, dietary factors, environmental factors, infections, inflammation, obstructions, and hormonal imbalances. There is a need to differentiate symptoms, review current diagnostic workups, and consider the various treatment options available to the pelvic health PT. This session will focus on current evidence-based evaluation and treatment of conditions such as urethral pain, urethral syndrome/urethral pain syndrome, dysuria, nocturia, and other symptoms frequently associated with the urethra."
Balancing Pain and Trauma: Integrating Somatic Therapies in Physical Therapy for Healing
"When a patient’s urinary urgency or incontinence disrupts a treatment session in outpatient therapy, how many therapists ask the patient questions about their urgency or incontinence? Many therapists are intimidated to discuss bladder problems with their patients because they do not know what to ask, they are uncomfortable with the topic and do not know how to help. However, evidence shows falls and fall risk as well as incontinence occur in older adults at a high rate and can be associated with each other. This presentation aims to educate PTs and PTAs working with older adults who are at risk of falls on how to screen for incontinence, what questions to ask about bladder problems, identify the type of incontinence present, and integrate exercises and education for incontinence into the plan of care. Using case studies, the participants will actively engage in the session and make decisions about appropriate questions for the patient, the type of incontinence, and the appropriate integration of balance and incontinence exercises. The participants will feel more confident in the topic of urinary incontinence encouraging them to address incontinence concerns in their older patients at risk of falls."
When I had gone to CSM as a student, the conference was hosted in Washington, DC, and I was a second-year student physical therapist. I had never visited DC before, so I was excited to explore the city. Unfortunately, during this time, there was a government shutdown so many of the museums I wanted to visit were closed to the public. Fortunately, I was still able to visit the National Museum of Women in the Arts as well as the National Mall and Memorial Parks. It was awe inspiring to see the rich history of the different memorials within the mall. The conference itself that year was such an eye opener for me, and I had learned so much. I still have my notes I took from those sessions.
Last year, when CSM was hosted in Boston, I was super excited. I've always wanted to visit the city and explore that rich history. I was also a licensed physical therapist which meant I'd get to experience the conference in an entirely different way than from when I was a student. For one thing, I did not bother going to most of the employment booths in the exhibition hall since I wasn't trying to look for a job. I already have one! Alas, I was not able to do the sightseeing I wanted to do, but I got to attend most of the sessions I wanted to listen to. I had my Bluetooth keyboard and my phone so I could take notes.
Though I didn't go in person to CSM in 2025, I definitely want to go in 2026. The conference will be hosted in Anaheim, California. I figure it will be nice to attend the conference in a city that I could drive to instead of flying there. And then after the conference, I'll stay a few more days to go sightseeing. Yup, I'm talking about a trip to Disneyland and California Adventure Park. Work and fun in one trip!
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