(November – 2019) Researchers in the rehabilitation research labs of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis have recently started a new Neuromotor Activities Program to provide activities that help maintain and improve the functional capabilities of their current and former rehabilitation research participants. The program will help researchers continue to collect essential data on our spinal cord injured (SCI) research participants while also offering the opportunity to work on their functional capabilities, independence, and life satisfaction. The program is part of The Miami Project’s comprehensive rehabilitation research activities that provides a continuum of evidence-based rehabilitation for the many people with SCI who have volunteered their participation in our clinical rehabilitation research programs.
Current activities administered by Deena Cilien, PT, DPT, as part of the Neuromotor Activities Program, include exercises that target specific movement impairments. Some participants are working on their manual dexterity and hand function, while some are walking on a treadmill or using a harness system to ambulate in the lab. The researchers are also using electrical stimulation to improve hand, arm and lower body function.
“One of the foundational goals of The Miami Project has been to identify and establish an evidence base for new strategies that can be integrated within the realm of routine clinical care. These strategies are not directed to cure, but rather an enhancement of functional and health outcomes for everyone who has a spinal cord injury. The Neuromotor Activities Program helps us better understand specific activities that are effective, and for whom they are best targeted, which will provide data needed for translation of these treatments to early clinical care,” said Dr. Mark Nash, who directs the program.
If you are interested in more information about the Neuromotor Activities Program, or other clinical research, please email MPInfo@med.miami.edu or call 305-243-7108.