Fellowship awarded to study mobility in people with Parkinson’s
Rehab program designed to improve ability of patients to turn their bodies
A fellowship worth more than $1.2 million will fund research focused on improving the mobility of individuals living with Parkinson’s disease.
The Advanced Fellowship from the National Institute for Health and Care Research was awarded to Rosie Morris, PhD, director of the Physiotherapy Innovation Laboratory at Northumbria University, in Newcastle, U.K.
The grant will help develop and test a rehabilitation program designed to improve the ability of Parkinson’s patients to turn their bodies safely and effectively. Turning difficulties are a significant but under-researched issue in Parkinson’s care.
Physiotherapy can help patients who have issues with their walking patterns
“Through research we have good evidence to suggest that physiotherapy is effective at supporting patients with Parkinson’s who often have issues with their walking patterns, known as gait, and balance. What we don’t have much of an evidence-base for is the impact of physiotherapy on improving turning,” Morris said in a university press release.
Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative condition marked by symptoms such as tremors, slow movement, and muscle stiffness. In addition to available treatments, non-drug approaches like physiotherapy play a crucial role in managing symptoms and helping individuals maintain their quality of life.
The research builds on past projects at Northumbria University, which have incorporated innovative approaches, such as digital technologies, to track walking patterns and brain activity changes.
One project involved the development of a smartphone app to report falls or near-miss incidents. Researchers plan to investigate the potential of this app as a self-management tool.
“The idea of a smartphone app is something we’ll be looking at by building on the prototype to explore potential uses as a self management tool, as well as recording and sharing information with healthcare professionals when incidents like falls have taken place,” Morris said.
The new fellowship will also include a systematic review of current research and a series of focus groups with patients and healthcare professionals to gather insights to help refine the rehabilitation program. Morris and her team will collaborate with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to facilitate the recruitment of patients, families, and clinicians to the study.
“This award supports my transition to an independent investigator in an area where there hasn’t previously been a lot of research,” Morris said. “It will fund work on the co-design of a rehabilitation programme with clinicians, patients and families, to improve turning in people with Parkinson’s disease. Ultimately, all my research aims to develop new understanding of neurological impairment and enhance clinical assessment and rehabilitation.”
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