Creating an Individualized and Meaningful Intervention Using Treadmill Training for Children: It Can Happen Anywhere! #250

TUE 1 NOV // 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Primary Content Focus: Pediatric Rehabilitation

Secondary Content Focus: Clinical practice (assessment, diagnosis, treatment, knowledge translation/EBP), Measurement

Typically developing children practice walking 50% of their waking hours. Children with motor impairments have much less opportunity to develop cardiopulmonary control and practice walking thus leading to better mobility. Studies of effective motor interventions favor intensity of training as the single most important factor in motor learning. Hence, children with disabilities struggle to develop fluid, efficient gait patterns. This course will present models that enhance cardiopulmonary functioning and promote opportunities to practice walking. Clinically friendly methods of collecting objective and using data to design interventions to improve performance in children will be presented along with many relevant case examples.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Use the Soda Pop Can Model to describe how the mechanics of breathing and postural control are related to normal pressure management of the trunk/spine in upright postures
Apply knowledge of spatiotemporal gait parameters to design ambulation programs with specific targets to increase symmetry
Describe the multiple simultaneous roles of the diaphragm as related to breathing and postural control
Suggest methods to increase intensity of practice/gait training in children
Apply broader concepts of core stability and gait to clinical cases

KEY WORDS

Gait
Respiratory Mechanics
Rehabilitation
Development

FACULTY

Mary Massery, PT, DPT
Owner, Massery Physical Therapy

Dr. Massery received her BS in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University in 1977, her DPT from the University of the Pacific in 2004 and her DSc from Rocky Mountain University in 2011. Her publications and interests focus on linking motor behaviors to breathing and/or postural mechanics in both pediatric and adult patient populations.
Dr. Massery has been invited to give over 800 professional presentations in 49 US states, 9 Canadian provinces, and 15 countries worldwide, including more than 100 presentations for the American Physical Therapy Association. She has delivered keynote and major addresses on topics such as cystic fibrosis and posture, neuropulmonary deficits, pectus excavatum (chest deformities), and connections between posture & breathing. Last year, she presented a full-day post-conference program at the 2015 World Congress of Physical Therapy in Singapore.

Dr. Massery has received national awards from the APTA, including its highest clinical award, the Florence Kendall Practice Award, and the honorary Linda Crane Memorial Lecture. She has also been honored as Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by each of her 3 alma maters. Dr. Massery continues to maintain a private practice in Chicago, specializing in breathing and postural dysfunction.

Roberta O’Shea, PT, DPT, PhD
Professor, Governors State University

Dr. O’Shea is a Professor of Physical Therapy at Governors State University. She holds a PT degree from St. Louis University, A DPT degree form Governors State University, and a PhD From University of Illinois Chicago. She has conducted trainings on the impact of treadmill training for children with Cerebral Palsy and also completed research on the impact of Conductive Education Interventions for Children with Cerebral Palsy and Adults with Stroke. She also maintains a small clinical practice working with infants and young children with developmental delays. She also teaches full time in the entry level Physical Therapy program and the advanced degree Physical Therapy program at Governors State University.

Nechama Karman, PT, MS, PCS
Chief Clinical Educator, Mobility Research, Education Department
Ms. Karman is a board certified pediatric physical therapist in private practice in Great Neck, NY. She has extensive experience in pediatric and adult rehabilitation settings, including inpatient, outpatient, acute and long-term rehab as well as home-based environments. She has been a LiteGait clinical trainer since 2008, and since 2010 has been responsible for ongoing clinical education programs for Mobility Research – including the facilitation of the online Journal Club, Case Studies & other clinical webinars. She has used LiteGait/GaitSens extensively across populations for both gait training and advanced skills training, primarily in individuals with acquired brain injuries and other neurological deficits. Ms. Karman was formerly on faculty at the School of Health Professions, Behavioral and Life Sciences of New York Institute of Technology, in Old Westbury, NY and School of Health Sciences, Hunter College of the City University of New York.