2023 Conference highlights

SPECIAL Symposium: Building an Interdisciplinary Mechanisms of Manual Therapy Collaborative Network Called ForceNET

Presenter

William R. Reed, DC, PhD
Department of Physical Therapy School of Health Professions
University of Alabama Birmingham

Knowledge pertaining to the manual therapy mechanisms across disciplines remains limited. To accelerate interdisciplinary collaborative research and advance the manual therapy field, we have established a NIH sponsored U24 (U24AT011969-01) national/international academic and professional Force-Based Manipulation network (ForceNet). We will stimulate interdisciplinary research addressing metrics of applied force, neural mechanisms of manual therapy mechano-transduction, and contextual effects. ForceNet will work to develop interdisciplinary collaborations and fund pilot projects. ForceNet aims to grow and diversify the manual therapy workforce, develop a pipeline of new manual therapy interdisciplinary investigators, and encourage new collaborations between larger research-intensive universities and smaller Integrative Medicine institutions.

The Use of Complimentary Integrative Rehabilitation Medicine In Speech Language Pathology and Audiology: Review of the Literature and New Findings from Cross-Country Barriers Assessment

Presenters

Megan C. Vaughan, SLPD, CCC-SLP, CBIS, CTP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Integrative Performance Labs

and

Amber Richardson, SLPD, CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
VA Northern California

In 2023, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine’s Complimentary Integrative Rehabilitation Medicine’s Group formed a task force for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists to further explore the current evidence of, barriers to, and solutions for implementing Complimentary Alternative Medicine (CAM) in the fields of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Providers from the private sector and public sector including Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense joined the committee to begin solidifying this important component of medical care. This presentation will focus on the current findings from the Task Force to inform the general medical community and reinforce the mission of translation of CAM into research and practice in these respective fields. Review of the CAM literature, the current state of CAM, and the findings from a nationwide barriers assessment and the next steps of this multi-pronged quality improvement initiative to bring CAM fluidly to Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology will be presented.

Chat with the Experts:
Nature-Based Therapies in Rehab: Utilizing Nature to Nurture

Zaliha Omar, M.B,B.S, FRCP(Glasg), FAFRM, DMR (RCP, Lond), FAMM
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine,
University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A discussion on how nature-based therapies can be used to motivate and enhance well-being while safely increasing physical function. We will explore research relating physical function, wellness, and the benefits of plants and nature as well as illustrate garden features that support rehabilitation goals.

Accessing Open Data in Complementary and Integrative Rehabilitation Medicine Research: Scoping Review of Literature

Zaliha Bijoyaa Mohapatra, PhD, CCC-SLP
Louisiana State University

Laura Excell, PhD, ND, APRN, MS, MA, LPC, NCC
Psychologist, NP, Nurse Herbalist Innerworking

Research on Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CIM) has increased in the last decade. However, publicly accessible data storing and sharing sources in CIM are limited. In our scoping review, we explored studies using CIM modalities on human subjects to locate publicly accessible datasets. We evaluated the characteristics of these studies including publication year and type, study location, CIM modality employed, participant characteristics, outcomes, dataset information, and reported challenges and limitations. Of the 14/104 studies that have been examined so far, the most common CIM modalities used were natural products, mindfulness, acupuncture, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Majority of these studies have been published in China, United States and Taiwan. While some studies offered publicly available datasets, most studies indicated that data would be available upon request. Future efforts need to explore the development of a publicly accessible centralized repository to store data exclusively for CIM research.

Nature as Co-Therapist in Rehabilitation

Zaliha Omar, M.B,B.S, FRCP(Glasg), FAFRM, DMR (RCP, Lond), FAMM
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine,
University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hazreena Hussein
Academician and Researcher
Universiti Malaya
Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Nature-based rehabilitation will be presented as an intervention that is multi-modal, person-centered, and collaborative in approach in keeping with the Cochrane rehabilitation definition of rehabilitation for research purposes. The newly formed nature-based rehabilitation Task force from CIRM network is a collaborative international network of interdisciplinary scientists including doctors, rehabilitation physicians, therapists, landscape architects, horticulturalists and many more. Concept, principles, and practice of nature-based activities and rehabilitation will be introduced. Case studies on therapeutic sensory stimulation gardens, animal therapy, horticulture therapy and nature-based healing with agarwood will be presented. 

Re-Energize: Yin and Yang Meditation: Finding
your inner self-compassion

Facilitator

Megan C. Vaughan, SLPD, CCC-SLP, CBIS, CTP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Integrative Performance Labs

Re-energize: Yin and Yang Meditation:

Finding your inner self-compassion with Dr. Megan Vaughan, who has been practicing mindful interventions for 10 years and developed the Mindfulness Based Communication Enhancement program for Special Forces. Dr. Vaughan is trained in MPEAK- Mindfulness Performance Enhancement, Awareness and Knowledge, of which she employs to train medical professionals to be mindful practitioners. She has a mindful training legacy from Jon Kabat-Zinn to Greg Serpa and was directly certified in the Veterans Affairs’ MBSR CALM, which is designed by Jon Kabat Zinn for selected professionals to deliver precise meditations of the highest standard.

Re-Energize! Presented by the ACRM CIRM Networking Group

Facilitator

Urszula Klich, PhD, BCB
My Mindful Way Of Life

Mindfulness-Based Biofeedback Meditation

A compassion based meditation session with Dr. Ursula Klich, a clinical psychologist, speaker, and author who teaches self-regulation to maximize physical and emotional health. She is a certified meditation teacher in Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) through Emory University and has served on various medical teams. She is board certified in biofeedback and is the president of the Southeast Biofeedback and Clinical Neuroscience Association. Her specialized program of Mindfulness-Based Biofeedback (MBB) has been published and widely applied from hospitals to classrooms based on the premise that integrating mindfulness and compassion-informed treatment with psychology fosters individuals’ healing power to improve physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Living mindfully is advantageous and accessible to anyone who recognizes a need for a shift in their life and sets an intention to move forward.

Biofeedback in Rehabilitation

Presenters

Urszula Klich, PhD, BCB
My Mindful Way Of Life

This symposium is part of the Bio/Neurofunctional Assessment and Bio/Neuro Therapeutics Series Co-Chairs: David S. Cantor, Ph.D., MS, QEEG-D, BCN and Sonya Kim, PhD, CRC, BCB, FACRM Biofeedback is a non-pharmacological intervention used in the management of various symptoms, chronic in presentation. It was founded in the late 1960’s by practitioners who shared the vision that autonomic and somatic nervous system modification could be self-regulated by adjusting to visual and audio information received through sensors attached to the skin and scalp. In this symposium, participants will learn about the research behind biofeedback and experience how various modalities allow individuals to “see” their physiological functioning in real-time while applying stress reduction strategies. Participants will explore the integration of biofeedback technology with relaxation strategies for improved physiological and psychological response. This symposium will consist of two parts: Part I, history and clinical applications and Part II, biofeedback in the treatment of pain.

Biofeedback and Neurofeedback in Rehabilitation

Presenter

Thomas F. Collura, PhD, QEEG-D, BCN, LPCC
BrainMaster Technologies, Inc.

This symposium is part of the Bio/Neurofunctional Assessment and Bio/Neuro Therapeutics Series Co-Chairs: David S. Cantor, Ph.D., MS, QEEG-D, BCN and Sonya Kim, PhD, CRC, BCB, FACRM This talk will provide an overview of published results using biofeedback and neurofeedback as components of a comprehensive rehabilitation program. Biofeedback is based on operant learning principles and used to help develop adaptive mechanisms and the learning of behavioral and coping skills, in a range of areas. These include feedback training of motor function (muscle and movement patterns), pain management, stress reduction, restoration of balance and coordination, and improvement of cognitive and emotional function.