Ms Tanja Spencer |
Led by Monash
Children’s Hospital physiotherapist Ms Tanja Spencer and Associate Professor
Michael Fahey from Monash University’s Department of Paediatrics, the study was
published last month in Brain Injury.
Neurological
impairments such as acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury and cerebral
palsy are a leading cause of disability worldwide.
Although many
people with a neurological impairment can walk unaided, they still identify
difficulty with high-level mobility skills.
“High-level
mobility skills include activities beyond independent walking, such as running
and jumping,” Ms Spencer said.
“Importantly, these
skills facilitate participation in community life, sports and employment, and
are therefore worthy of targeted intervention.”
Ms Spencer said the
study is the very first systematic review to evaluate the emerging literature
regarding high-level mobility interventions in people with a neurological
impairment.
“Our findings
provide evidence to support the role of various interventions in safely
improving high-level mobility skills for a wide range of neurological diagnoses
and participant ages,” Ms Spencer said.
Associate Professor
Fahey said people with neurological impairment are often discharged from
rehabilitation once they have achieved safe, independent ambulation and face
challenges such as lack of funding for, and access to appropriate programs that
address high-level mobility.
“This study shows that
clinicians can reasonably implement high-level mobility interventions in
ambulant people with a neurological impairment, who have goals to do more than
walk over level surfaces,” Associate Professor Fahey said.
The research team
is hopeful the systematic review will encourage physiotherapists to support
their clients with a neurological impairment in pursuing their goals of
returning to or improving their running, and sports participation.
Ms Spencer has
recently completed her Masters of Philosophy through Monash University’s
Department of Paediatrics.
This research was
initiated after a Running Group offered through the Victorian Paediatric
Rehabilitation Service at Monash Children’s Hospital yielded positive results
for children with neurological impairments. An Emerging Researcher
Fellowship from Monash Health allowed Tanja to finalise this systematic review
and undertake a randomised controlled trial comparing the Running Group to
usual care. The results of that study have been widely presented at
national and international childhood disability conferences and are currently being
reviewed for publication.
No comments:
Post a Comment