Clinical Rehabilitation Research Lab

Mission

The Division of Physical Therapy at Walsh University has developed a research program focused on the study of movement and rehabilitation in persons with and without pathology. The program is designed to contribute to the advancement of the physical therapy profession through creation of new knowledge/evidence, facilitation of student learning through hands-on mentored research experiences, and service of research needs for the nearby Walsh Community.

 Research Areas

Neural Control of Movement & Neurorehabilitation

• The focus of this group is:  i.) to explore aspects of typical and atypical motor control and learning in adults in an effort to refine current treatments, ii.) assess the efficacy of current physical therapy interventions, and iii.) develop novel rehabilitation interventions that optimize functional recovery in persons with neurological disorders.  Research methods include:  quantification of behavior during real world tasks, and use of standardized outcome measures and questionnaires to quantify recovery after targeted interventions.

Project(s)

Title: Arm and Hand Use During Functional Tasks in Healthy Elderly Adults

• Focus:  i.)  to assess the effect of manipulating certain task parameters (weight, size of object, speed requirements, accuracy requirements) on arm and hand use during functional tasks and ii.) to quantify a qualitative description of arm and hand use during specific functional tasks (without manipulating any parameters) in healthy elderly adults across three different age groups.
• Contact:  Maureen Whitford, PT, PhD at:  mwhitford@walsh.edu or (330) 490-7354

 Orthopedic Rehabilitation

• The focus of these researchers is to explore aspects of manual therapy and other musculoskeletal interventions with adults who suffer from musculoskeletal pain and/or disorders on functional outcome measures. 

Project(s)

• Title: The Effect of Augmented Exercises on a Temporal Neurophysiological Response from Manual Therapy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
  • Focus:  i.) determine the effect of a home program of self-applied augmented exercises for manual therapy on outcomes in patients with mechanical neck pain, ii) determine the effect of increases in self-report of activity, iii.) measure the temporal neurophysiological effects of manual therapy in those who receive non-augmented care.

 Inclusion Criteria:

• Primary complaint of unilateral neck pain
• Complaints of neck motion limitations
• Onset of symptoms may be linked to a recent unguarded/awkward movement or position
• With or without associated upper extremity pain
• Limited cervical range of motion (ROM); restricted cervical extension and/or cervical rotation and/or cervical lateral flexion ROM
• Neck pain reproduced at end ranges of active and passive motions
• Restricted cervical and thoracic segmental mobility
• Neck and neck-related upper extremity pain reproduced with provocation of the involved cervical or upper thoracic segments
• Age between 18-65 years old

Time Commitment: The experiment will entail a 3 total visits time visit, to be carried out within the Physical Therapy Division (Betzler Building) at Walsh University.  The initial examination will take approximately 1 hour and the two remaining visits will each take approximately 15-20 minutes.

Contact: Dr. Chad Cook at ccook@walsh.edu or (330)490-7370 

Movement Analysis

• The focus of this group is:  i.) analysis of movement tasks, ii.) identification of active muscles, and iii.) investigation of the cause and intervention for faulty movement patterns.  Research methods include:  observational and video movement analysis, surface palpation, surface electromyography, assessment, of the ability to identify muscle activity, and the effect of targeting muscle action on intervention outcomes.