| Name : |
Activity, Activity, Activity: Rethinking Our Physical Therapy Approach to Cerebral Palsy
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| URL : |
http://physicaltherapyjournal.net/cgi/reprint/86/11/1534
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| Short Description : |
Proposes that the paradigm for physical therapist management of cerebral palsy needs to shift. |
| Long Description : |
This perspective outlines the theoretical basis for the presentation with the
same name as the second part of this title, which was given at the III STEP
conference in July 2005. It elaborates on the take-home message from that
talk, which was to promote activity in children and adults with cerebral palsy
and other central nervous system disorders. The author proposes that the
paradigm for physical therapist management of cerebral palsy needs to shift
from traditional or “packaged” approaches to a more focused and proactive
approach of promoting activity through more intense active training protocols,
lifestyle modifications, and mobility-enhancing devices. Increased motor
activity has been shown to lead to better physical and mental health and to
augment other aspects of functioning such as cognitive performance, and
more recently has been shown to promote neural and functional recovery in
people with damaged nervous systems. Although the benefits of fairly intense
physical exercise programs such as strength training are becoming increasingly
well recognized, few studies on the positive effects of generalized activity
programs have been conducted in individuals with cerebral palsy. More
research is needed and is currently under way to design and test the efficacy
of activity-based strategies in cerebral palsy. [Damiano DL. Activity, activity,
activity: rethinking our physical therapy approach to cerebral palsy. Phys Ther.
2006;86:1534 –1540.] |
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