How to choose a wheelchair

Welcome to Episode 1 of a How To video series presented by National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) with the help of Mary Allison Cook, a wheelchair user for the past 23 years. She will lead us through a number of How To's for the wheelchair user. In this video you will learn the important aspects of how to choose a wheelchair that is right for you.

How one man's trip to Toys 'R' Us brought mobility to hundreds of disabled kids

Cole Galloway’s workspace at the University of Delaware resembles a ransacked toy store. There are piles of plastic tubing, swim noodles, stuffed animals, and battery-powered Jeep and Barbie cars everywhere. But Galloway, 48, is a physical therapy professor and infant behavior expert whose lab has a very clear mission: to provide mobility to children with cognitive or physical disabilities.

Read more.

University of Delaware - Department of Physical Therapy - Dr. James C. (Cole) Galloway, PT, PhD.

GoBabyGo Facebook page.

Hugh Herr: The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance

Hugh Herr is building the next generation of bionic limbs, robotic prosthetics inspired by nature's own designs. Herr lost both legs in a climbing accident 30 years ago; now, as the head of the MIT Media Lab's Biomechatronics group, he shows his incredible technology in a talk that's both technical and deeply personal — with the help of ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and performs again for the first time on the TED stage.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.

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Basic wheelchair propulsion

Basic Wheelchair Propulsion by BlazeSports America.

Born from the spirit of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Paralympic Games, BlazeSports America is a national nonprofit organization that enables children and adults with physical disability to realize their potential through sport and healthy lifestyles. BlazeSports provides sports training, competitions, summer camps, leadership training, and recreational opportunities for youth and adults who use wheelchairs, have a visual impairment, have an amputation, or who have a neurological disability such as cerebral palsy through 63 clubs in 29 states including the District of Columbia.

Finding my feet - Claire Lomas

Over dinner late in 2011, Claire Lomas told her friends she would be walking the London Marathon in 2012 despite not walking a step since the accident which left her paralysed in 2007.



Given Claire's strength of character, not one of her friends were doubting that she would complete - It was just a question of how long it would take!



On 8 May 2012, 17 days after she started, Claire crossed the finish line in London and whilst walking she had been taken into the hearts of the nation.



The 2013 challenge saw Claire take on a 400 mile hand-cycle, visiting schools and talking to children en-route. At the finish on 13 May, she had raise £75,000.



'Inspirational' is the word that has been used many times to describe Claire's achievements.

Athletics - Men's 200m - T44 Final - London 2012 Paralympic Games

GOLD OLIVEIRA Alan Fonteles Cardoso BRA - Brazil

SILVER PISTORIUS Oscar RSA - South Africa

BRONZE LEEPER Blake USA - United States of America

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to develop sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

For further information, please visit http://www.paralympic.org.

Human exoskeletons by eksobionics

Ekso™ is a wearable bionic suit which enables individuals with any amount of lower extremity weakness to stand up and walk over ground with a natural, full weight bearing, reciprocal gait. Walking is achieved by the user’s weight shifts to activate sensors in the device which initiate steps. Battery-powered motors drive the legs, replacing deficient neuromuscular function.

• Provides a means for people with as much as complete paralysis, and minimal forearm strength, to stand and walk
• Helps patients re-learn proper step patterns and weight shifts using a functional based platform
• Facilitates intensive step dosage over ground

Walk Again Project

The first kick of the 2014 FIFA World Cup may be delivered in Sao Paulo next June by a Brazilian who is paralyzed from the waist down. If all goes according to plan, the teenager will walk onto the field, cock back a foot and swing at the soccer ball, using a mechanical exoskeleton controlled by the teen’s brain.

Motorized metal braces tested on monkeys will support and bend the kicker’s legs. The braces will be stabilized by gyroscopes and powered by a battery carried by the kicker in a backpack. German-made sensors will relay a feeling of pressure when each foot touches the ground. And months of training on a virtual-reality simulator will have prepared the teenager — selected from a pool of 10 candidates — to do all this using a device that translates thoughts into actions.

Read more at The Washington Post.

AlterG - the anti-gravity treadmill

The video presents a range of patients with different diagnoses using the AlterG - the anti-gravity treadmill:

1. A Parkinson's patient walking safely, allowing her to stay mobile and improve her condition

2. An overweight patient enjoying running for the first time and losing weight

3. A triathlete recovering from an injury and competing again

4. An injured cop recovering from an injury, enabling him to return to his job

I just came across this product. It seems to me that it would benefit these kinds of patients since it allows pain free movements that they would otherwise not be able to do - a fact good for both the musculoskeletal and the neurologic rehab process. This fits very well with the functional rehabilitation a Physical Therapist should focus on.

MovingNaturally Training

When I watched this video I liked very much this idea of regaining our abilities to move naturally. It is true that we leave a life that does not favor natural movement and restricts our body's amazing capabilities. Of course, there are a lot of ways you can follow to train them, but I liked this approach by MovNat.

Principles of natural running

Instructional video on natural running, by Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, Director of the Natural Running Center. http://naturalrunningcenter.com.

Arm and shoulder pain in SCIs: seeking solutions

Many people with SCI who use manual wheelchairs develop chronic, disabling arm, shoulder or hand pain that interferes with daily life. Studies have found that between 31%-73% of persons in the SCI population have shoulder pain, and 49%-73% have painful carpal tunnel syndrome.

Despite the frequency of these syndromes, little is known about their specific causes or how to prevent them, and treatments are not always effective.

In order to unravel this mystery, the Northwest Regional SCI System at the UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine is collaborating with two other SCI centers (University of Pittsburgh and the Kessler Institute) on a study of wheelchair propulsion and transfer techniques in the SCI population.

Read more.

Wheelchair propulsion method: push or pull?

Have you ever thought that it would be better for a wheelchair user to pull instead of push in order to move forward? Would that be biomechanically better? Which muscles would be activated in each case? Is there clinical evidence that supports each case? What is the effect on the muscle soreness and fatigue as well as on cardiovascular endurance in each case?

These were the questions that made the RowWheels team to re-design and re-engineer a wheelchair from scratch. And they came up with this wheelchair in the video.

In their website: rowwheels.com you can find very usefull information on the following:

• why rowwheels
• product's specs
• what was the initial problem
• evidence support
• benefits of the method

and many more...

Interesting idea which I am curious to see how it will be introduced to and supported by the clinicians and the wheelchair users.

As they mention in their website, "benefits described, though likely, are still pending validation through clinical studies".

Nordic walking and osteoarthritis

For the aftercare stage of patients with osteoarthritis operation in the hip or the knee, the physical therapist should advise the patient on maintaining the targets they have achieved, for instance by giving them tips on engaging in healthy physical activity behavior in their everyday life or, if useful, by helping patients enter regular community exercise or sports programs, or supervised group exercise programs, such as tai chi, Nordic walking or other exercise programs (KNGF Guidelines for osteoarthritis of the hip and knee).

Walking with crutches

Precautions:

• Beware of slick or wet surfaces and throw rugs.
• Keep crutches near you so they are always within reach.
• Wear low heeled shoes that will not slip off (sneakers).
• Ask teachers in school to let child out of class a little
• early to avoid crowds on stairs and organize a
• buddy system.
• Keep the injured leg up on a stool when appropriate.
• Carry books and school supplies in a backpack to leave both hands free.

(this video was suggested to me by my classmate Bita Lotfaliei)

Where is your personal limit?

"Bladerunner" Oscar Pistorius raced against a horse in Doha on Wednesday and won - all in an effort to promote disability sport and fight discrimination in the region.

Normally when a horse takes on a human in a race there's usually only one winner but that was before Oscar Pistorius challenged a noble steed to a sprint and it was the horse who came away with a long face.

The Aspire Zone in Doha witnessed "Bladerunner", beating an Arabian horse as part of the 'Definitely Able' campaign which uses special events to highlight the exceptional feats Paralympic athletes are capable of.

Measuring and using crutches

"Walking aids are used by a variety of people. This includes people recovering from injury, people with  reduced balance strength and endurance, or people with pain or instability in any weight bearing joint used in walking.

The choice of walking aid should suit a person’s abilities and personal requirements. It is recommended to seek the assistance of a physiotherapist in this process.

A physiotherapist is also able to provide advice and training in the correct use of the device.

LifeTec Queensland is a leading provider of information, consultation, and education on assistive technology that can help individuals improve their quality of life and remain independent.

In partnership with a range of complementary organisations, LifeTec Queensland provides advice on the range of available solutions regardless of a person's age or level of ability.

LifeTec assists a wide range of people from all walks of life".

Source: LifeTec Queensland

A nice solution for people with paraplegia

Tek RMD, provides the opportunity of movement for people with paraplegia by enabling them to independently stand up in a completely upright position with correct posture, facilitating their movement and comfortable completion of their daily tasks indoors, such as in the home, office and shopping mall. Tek RMD is not an alternative to wheelchairs, it is a totally new concept, a new platform.