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Rehabilitation and Therapy

Chapman University

Motor learning

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Lifelong Fitness In Ambulatory Children And Adolescents With Cerebral Palsy Ii: Influencing The Trajectory, Susan V. Duff, Justine D. Kimbel, Marybeth Grant-Beuttler, Theresa Sukal-Moulton, Noelle G. Moreau, Kathleen M. Friel Jun 2023

Lifelong Fitness In Ambulatory Children And Adolescents With Cerebral Palsy Ii: Influencing The Trajectory, Susan V. Duff, Justine D. Kimbel, Marybeth Grant-Beuttler, Theresa Sukal-Moulton, Noelle G. Moreau, Kathleen M. Friel

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Physical activity of at least moderate intensity in all children contributes to higher levels of physical and psychological health. While essential, children with cerebral palsy (CP) often lack the physical capacity, resources, and knowledge to engage in physical activity at a sufficient intensity to optimize health and well-being. Low levels of physical activity place them at risk for declining fitness and health, contributing to a sedentary lifestyle. From this perspective, we describe a framework to foster a lifelong trajectory of fitness in ambulatory children with CP (GMFCS I–III) as they progress into adolescence and adulthood, implemented in conjunction with a …


General Variability Leads To Specific Adaptation Toward Energy Optimal Policies, Sabrina J. Abram, Katherine L. Poggensee, Natalia Sánchez, Surabhi N. Simha, James M. Finley, Steven H. Collins, J. Maxwell Donelan May 2022

General Variability Leads To Specific Adaptation Toward Energy Optimal Policies, Sabrina J. Abram, Katherine L. Poggensee, Natalia Sánchez, Surabhi N. Simha, James M. Finley, Steven H. Collins, J. Maxwell Donelan

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Our nervous systems can learn optimal control policies in response to changes to our bodies, tasks, and movement contexts. For example, humans can learn to adapt their control policy in walking contexts where the energy-optimal policy is shifted along variables such as step frequency or step width. However, it is unclear how the nervous system determines which ways to adapt its control policy. Here, we asked how human participants explore through variations in their control policy to identify more optimal policies in new contexts. We created new contexts using exoskeletons that apply assistive torques to each ankle at each walking …


Using Asymmetry To Your Advantage: Learning To Acquire And Accept External Assistance During Prolonged Split-Belt Walking, Natalia Sánchez, Surabhi N. Simha, J. Maxwell Donelan, James M. Finley Feb 2021

Using Asymmetry To Your Advantage: Learning To Acquire And Accept External Assistance During Prolonged Split-Belt Walking, Natalia Sánchez, Surabhi N. Simha, J. Maxwell Donelan, James M. Finley

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

People can learn to exploit external assistance during walking to reduce energetic cost. For example, walking on a split-belt treadmill affords the opportunity for people to redistribute the mechanical work performed by the legs to gain assistance from the difference in belts’ speed and reduce energetic cost. Though we know what people should do to acquire this assistance, this strategy is not observed during typical adaptation studies. We hypothesized that extending the time allotted for adaptation would result in participants adopting asymmetric step lengths to increase the assistance they can acquire from the treadmill. Here, participants walked on a split-belt …


Applying Principles Of Motor Learning And Control To Upper Extremity Rehabilitation, Lisa M. Muratori, Eric M. Lamberg, Lori Quinn, Susan V. Duff Apr 2013

Applying Principles Of Motor Learning And Control To Upper Extremity Rehabilitation, Lisa M. Muratori, Eric M. Lamberg, Lori Quinn, Susan V. Duff

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief review of the principles of motor control and learning. Different models of motor control from historical to contemporary are presented with emphasis on the Systems model. Concepts of motor learning including skill acquisition, measurement of learning, and methods to promote skill acquisition by examining the many facets of practice scheduling and use of feedback are provided. A fictional client case is introduced and threaded throughout the article to facilitate understanding of these concepts and how they can be applied to clinical practice.


Does Motor Lateralization Have Implications For Stroke Rehabilitation?, Robert L. Sainburg, Susan V. Duff May 2006

Does Motor Lateralization Have Implications For Stroke Rehabilitation?, Robert L. Sainburg, Susan V. Duff

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Recent findings on motor lateralization have revealed consistent differences in the control strategies of the dominant and nondominant hemisphere/limb systems that could have implications for hemiplegic stroke patients. Studies in stroke patients have demonstrated deficiencies in the ipsilesional arm that reflect these distinctions; patients with right-hemisphere damage tend to show deficits in positional accuracy, and patients with left-hemisphere damage show deficits in trajectory control. Such deficits have been shown to impede functional performance; yet patients with severe dominant-side hemiplegia must often use the nondominant arm as the primary manipulator for activities of daily living. Nevertheless, the nondominant arm may not …