This book provides a wide spectrum of readers with comprehensive but easily understandable protocols for the assessment and training of wheelchair skills. The Wheelchair Research Team at Dalhousie University and the Capital District Health Authority in Halifax (lead by the author) have focused on wheelchair safety and performance for three decades, as exemplified through the Wheelchair Skills Program. This is considered the top such program in the world. This new book is largely based on this program which has been accessed and utilized by over 75,000 people in 177 countries since 2007.

This book provides a wide spectrum of readers with comprehensive but easily understandable protocols for the assessment and training of wheelchair skills. The Wheelchair Research Team at Dalhousie University and the Capital District Health Authority in Halifax (lead by the author) have focused on wheelchair safety and performance for three decades, as exemplified through the Wheelchair Skills Program. This is considered the top such program in the world. This new book is largely based on this program which has been accessed and utilized by over 75,000 people in 177 countries since 2007.

The guidelines focus on manual wheelchairs and the needs of long-term wheelchair users. The recommendations are targeted at those involved in wheelchair services, ranging from design and planning, to providing or supplying wheelchairs and their maintenance.

"Seating and Wheeled Mobility: A Clinical Resource Guide presents clinical assessment considerations when working with a person with a disability who may need wheelchair seating for postural support, skin integrity, or a wheelchair base to best meet dependent or independent mobility needs. Michelle L. Lange and Jean L. Minkel have designed this text to support occupational and physical therapists, complex rehabilitation technology suppliers, and even third-party payers who are interested in wheelchair seating and mobility assessment and applications. Seating and Wheeled Mobility provides a wide spectrum of information from foundational information for those practitioners who are new to the field to in-depth, population-specific information for practitioners who perhaps have not worked with a particular population in the past. Information sharing, opportunities for demonstration and trial, and patience on the part of the clinician working with the person with a disability are all critical precursors to the actual process of making equipment recommendations. Seating and Wheeled Mobility is divided into sections, each addressing a different area of clinical practice: - The first section is an in-depth presentation of the assessment process and the critical understanding of pressure management needed by the clinical team when working with a client population who rely on wheeled mobility. - The second section focuses on postural support. Also included is a completely updated method to measure and describe the seated person and related support surfaces needed when recommending a device. - The third section lays the foundation for clinical decision making around the assessment for and application of the most appropriate wheeled mobility device"--Provided by publisher.

Physical rehabilitation for walking recovery after spinal cord injury is undergoing a paradigm shift. Therapy historically has focused on compensation for sensorimotor deficits after SCI using wheelchairs and bracing to achieve mobility. With locomotor training, the aim is to promote recovery via activation of the neuromuscular system below the level of the lesion. What basic scientists have shown us as the potential of the nervous system for plasticity, to learn, even after injury is being translated into a rehabilitation strategy by taking advantage of the intrinsic biology of the central nervous system. While spinal cord injury from basic and clinical perspectives was the gateway for developing locomotor training, its application has been extended to other populations with neurologic dysfunction resulting in loss of walking or walking disability.

Combining 25 years of clinical, research and teaching experience, Dr Lisa Harvey provides an innovative 5-step approach to the physiotherapy management of people with spinal cord injury. Based on the International Classification of Functioning, this approach emphasises the importance of setting goals which are purposeful and meaningful to the patient. These goals are related to performance of motor tasks analysed in terms of 6 key impairments. The assessment and treatment performance of each of these impairments for people with spinal cord injury is described in the following chapters: - training motor tasks - strength training - contracture management - pain management - respiratory management - cardiovascular fitness training Dr Harvey develops readers' problem-solving skills equipping them to manage all types of spinal cord injuries. Central to these skills is an understanding of how people with different patterns of paralysis perform motor tasks and the importance of differentmuscles for motor tasks such as: - transfers and bed mobility of people - wheelchair mobility - hand function for people with tetraplegia - standing and walking with lower limb paralysis This book is for students and junior physiotherapists with little or no experience in the area of spinal cord injury but with a general understanding of the principles of physiotherapy. It is also a useful tool for experienced clinicians, including those keen to explore the evidence base that supports different physiotherapy interventions.