Neurological rehabilitation

Research Overview

Neurological disorders are a common cause of reduced capacity for everyday independence. Neurological rehabilitation focuses on improving a person's ability to care for themselves and optimise their outcome from a neurological event or condition. The research programs in the physiotherapy department target a range of conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and motor neurone disease. These conditions represent the major causes of disability in younger and older adults. Our current research programs are investigating the most prevalent physical impairments resulting from neurological disorders. There are three main areas in which we are targeting our research efforts. The first area is the identification of the key deficits and physical impairments associated with each neurological condition. Impairments such as reduced balance and muscle weakness play a major role in restricting independence. The second main focus of our research programs are to investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of treatments provided for these physical impairments in order to assist and guide clinicians in their clinical decision making. The final focus seeks to understand the impact of neurological disorders on physical activity and sedentary behaviour and the development and evaluation of programs to optimise physical activity to enhance health and wellbeing.

Staff