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Orthopedics 203 — at a Glance
| Course: | Nerve Entrapments of the Pelvis and Lower Extremities · 2 PACE-approved CE hours |
| Faculty: | John Riggs III, MBA, DC, DIANM · Orthopedics Faculty, CCEDseminars |
| Format: | On-demand online video with assessment · downloadable handouts · instant certificate |
| Pricing: | $20/hr · automatic 10% off at 6–9 hrs, 20% off at 10+ hrs in one order · no promo codes |
| Approval: | PACE Provider #34015544 · co-sponsored by Texas Chiropractic College · acceptance varies by state |
Board-approved · PACE Provider #34015544 · CE Broker auto-reporting for states served · Instant certificate
Buttock pain that is not a disc, a numb patch on the outer thigh, a foot that slaps or burns — the pelvis and lower extremity have their own entrapment syndromes, and the first job is telling them apart from lumbar radiculopathy. Orthopedics 203 is the third course in Dr. Riggs’ entrapment series: piriformis syndrome and sciatic nerve entrapment in the pelvis, meralgia paresthetica, common peroneal nerve entrapment at the fibular head, and tarsal tunnel syndrome at the ankle.
Dr. John Riggs III takes each syndrome through anatomy, presentation, orthopedic testing and conservative management, with the differential diagnosis against radiculopathy running through the whole course — the distribution, the reflexes and the provocative tests that point to a peripheral entrapment rather than a nerve root. Patient education for prevention and home management closes the course, so the chiropractor leaves with a plan for the sciatica-that-is-not-sciatica patient.
Choose Your Orthopedics Path — Three Lanes, One Curriculum
The Orthopedics library — twenty-six courses by five CCEDseminars faculty: John Riggs III, MBA, DC, DIANM; Steven Yeomans, DC, FACO; Michael Hall, DC, FIACN; Dennis O’Hara, DC, DACBSP; and Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN — organizes into three working lanes: trace the nerve, evaluate the joint, and catch the presentations that change management. Orthopedics 201–224 together form the 48-hour Clinical Chiropractic Orthopedics Certification (CCO). Two hours each.
1 · Gut, Microbiome, Digestion and Detoxification
Dr. Riggs’ designed three-course sequence — the entrapment map from the shoulder girdle to the tarsal tunnel: median, ulnar and radial nerve entrapments of the upper limb, the thoracic outlet and scapular syndromes, piriformis, meralgia paresthetica, peroneal and tarsal tunnel — plus the athlete’s stinger. You are here: Orthopedics 203.
201: Upper Extremity Entrapment Syndromes
202: Trunk & Upper Extremity Entrapment Syndromes
203: Nerve Entrapments of the Pelvis and Lower Extremities
221: Burner Syndrome
2 · Brain, Mood, Stress and the Nervous System
Regional evaluation and management down the kinetic chain — the joints your schedule is made of: the rotator cuff and the frozen shoulder, the neck-and-shoulder file, the hip, plica syndrome at the knee, the foot and ankle, Achilles tendinitis, the chronically unstable ankle, and the stress fracture that hides as focal pain.
204: Rotator Cuff Syndrome
206: Frozen Shoulder Evaluation
212: The Neck & Shoulder
215: Orthopedic Conditions of the Foot and Ankle
216: Plica Syndrome
217: Achilles Tendinitis
218: The Floppy Ankle
219: The Hip
225: Stress Fractures
3 · Musculoskeletal, Immune, Hormonal and Clinical Conditions
Stability testing, functional assessment and the presentations that demand recognition — cervical instability and position sense, cauda equina, dropped head syndrome, cervicovagopathy, gait and the lumbar spine, the Romberg sign and flexibility benchmarks — plus the chronic pain, inflammation and breathing science underneath.
205: Cervical Spine Instability: The How-To
207: Finger to Floor & Sit-n-Reach
208: Managing Chronic Pain
209: The Romberg Sign
210: Inflammatory Properties of Contained and Non-Contained Disc Disease
211: Cervical Position Sense Testing
213: Coronal Plane Movement & Neuroplasticity
214: Cauda Equina & Lumbar Radiculopathy
220: Cervicovagopathy
222: Dropped Head Syndrome
223: Chronic Inflammation and Close Relationships
224: Breathe — Mouth Breathing and Health
226: Gait & the Lumbar Spine
Every course in the series is 2 PACE-approved CE hours at $40, and the automatic bundle discounts apply across the whole lane. The full 26-course catalog continues on the Orthopedics category page.
What You’ll Learn in Orthopedics 203
Identify common sites of nerve entrapment in the pelvis and lower extremities relevant to chiropractic practice.
Apply differential diagnosis skills to distinguish pelvic and lower extremity entrapment syndromes from radiculopathy.
Develop evidence-based conservative management protocols for piriformis syndrome, meralgia paresthetica and tarsal tunnel syndrome.
Implement patient education strategies for prevention and self-management of lower extremity entrapments.
Your Orthopedics Faculty
John H. Riggs III, MBA, DC, DIANM — instructor of this course. Board-certified Diplomate of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine, former Chair of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners Enforcement Committee and postgraduate faculty at Texas Chiropractic College, with more than 20 peer-reviewed publications in JMPT and JACO. He authors the three-course nerve entrapment series (Orthopedics 201–203), the systematic backbone of the CCEDseminars Orthopedics library — here, piriformis syndrome, meralgia paresthetica, peroneal and tarsal tunnel entrapment, and the differential that separates them from lumbar radiculopathy.
Full bio and the complete instructor roster: CCEDseminars faculty page.
Where Orthopedics CE Hours Count — State Rules Worth Knowing
Orthopedics coursework is clinical subject matter — examination, diagnosis and case management — which is exactly what several state boards ask for. In Iowa, these hours serve the 36-hour clinical case-management minimum; in Rhode Island, they address the 50-of-60 clinical requirement; and in Vermont — where practice-building coursework earns nothing — patient-care education like this counts fully under the clinical-focus rule.
Online-format allowances still vary by state — some accept every hour online, others cap distance learning or require in-person blocks. Check your state’s guide in the full state directory before building your renewal plan.
Build Your Orthopedics Block — or Take the Credential
Every course in the Orthopedics series runs 2 hours at $40, so the automatic discounts do the bundling for you: 6–9 hours in one order earns 10% off, and 10 or more earns 20% off — any ten courses from the series is 20 hours, which clears the 20% tier at roughly $320 instead of $400, with no promo codes. Nerve Entrapments of the Pelvis and Lower Extremities pairs naturally with Orthopedics 201 on the upper limb and Orthopedics 202 on the trunk and shoulder girdle — Dr. Riggs’ three-course entrapment series reaches 6 hours and the 10% tier. Pursuing the credential? The Clinical Chiropractic Orthopedics Certification (CCO) packages Orthopedics 201–224 — 48 hours — in a single $960 checkout. Browse Orthopedics Courses
Orthopedics 203 — Frequently Asked Questions
What does Orthopedics 203 cover?
Orthopedics 203 covers nerve entrapments of the pelvis and lower extremities for chiropractors: piriformis syndrome and sciatic nerve entrapment, meralgia paresthetica of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, common peroneal nerve entrapment at the fibular head, tarsal tunnel syndrome, differential diagnosis against lumbar radiculopathy, conservative management and patient education. Also known as the piriformis syndrome course, the meralgia paresthetica course, or the lower extremity nerve entrapment course.
How do I tell piriformis syndrome from a lumbar disc?
Distribution and provocation. Piriformis syndrome produces buttock and posterior thigh symptoms without the dermatomal pattern, reflex change or straight-leg-raise behavior of a root lesion, and it is reproduced by piriformis-specific tests. The course walks through that differential for each lower extremity entrapment so the chiropractor is not treating a peripheral nerve as a disc, or the reverse.
What causes numbness on the outside of the thigh?
Most often meralgia paresthetica — compression of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve at the inguinal ligament, aggravated by tight belts, weight gain and prolonged standing. It is a purely sensory nerve, so there is no weakness, and it responds well to the conservative measures the course covers: relieving the compression, addressing the contributors and educating the patient.
How is this different from Orthopedics 201 and 202?
Orthopedics 201 covers the upper limb and Orthopedics 202 the trunk and shoulder girdle; Orthopedics 203 completes Dr. Riggs’ entrapment map in the pelvis and lower extremity. The three share one method — anatomy, presentation, orthopedic testing, conservative management — and together they cover the peripheral nerve entrapments a chiropractor is most likely to see.
How many CE hours is it, and where does it sit in the Orthopedics series?
It is 2 PACE-approved CE hours. Orthopedics 203 completes the nerve entrapment lane of the Orthopedics series with Dr. John Riggs III, alongside Orthopedics 201 (Upper Extremity Entrapment Syndromes), 202 (Trunk & Upper Extremity Entrapment Syndromes) and 221 (Burner Syndrome).
State Approval and Licensing Reminder
Continuing education requirements — including online-hour caps and clinical-hour minimums — vary by jurisdiction. Review the online chiropractic CE guidelines page and contact CCEDseminars with questions about your specific licensing requirements before registering.
Ready to Enroll in Orthopedics 203?
Not every sciatica is a disc, and not every numb foot is a root. Two hours here give you the pelvic and lower extremity entrapment map, the differential against radiculopathy and the conservative plan for each.
CCEDseminars · PACE Provider #34015544 · Reviewed by Monte Horne, DC · Last updated September 2026 (CT)