Improving recovery and quality of life
Many Mobility Project researchers are working directly with patients on strategies aimed at improving their overall recovery, their functional abilities and their quality of life.
Physiatrists Dr. Christine Short (in Halifax) and Dr. Colleen O’Connell (in Fredericton) are testing ways of reducing the leg-muscle spasms that make walking extremely difficult for people with multiple sclerosis, partial spinal cord injuries and other neurologic disorders. At the same time, they are searching for better ways of relieving the chronic neuropathic pain which commonly afflicts people with these conditions.
Physiotherapist Dr. Shaun Boe is studying how the central and peripheral nervous systems change when injured or diseased, and how they further modify themselves in response to rehabilitative treatments for motor deficits. His work is laying the groundwork for potentially more effective treatments in the future. Also in the realm of physiotherapy, Dr. Marilyn MacKay-Lyons is exploring how to maximize people’s physical fitness and overall health after neurological injury.