This tweetchat on Monday 11th December at 8pm GMT has been organised by the Devon and Cornwall subcommittee of South West ACPIN @ACPIN_SW
Our two 2nd year Physiotherapy student ACPIN members have suggested the topic of falls and balance within the neurological population following a recent Neuro module at Plymouth University. One neurological condition that features in the top 10 most prevalent long-term health conditions in England is stroke and is the third largest cause of enduring disability in the world. Stroke service users are nearly twice as likely to fall as their age and gender matched counterparts and their risk of hip fracture is doubled.
Falls after stroke lead to a cycle of injury, distress, loss of independence, fear of falling, deconditioning and increased costs of care, representing significant consequences both for the individual and wider society. In order to minimise the negative consequences of falls post-stroke, researchers have investigated the effectiveness of falls interventions, but systematic reviews are inconclusive as to their effectiveness. Although the evidence to reduce falls post-stroke may appear to be lacking, we anticipate that many neurological physiotherapists are managing falls with a range of neurologically impaired adults on a daily basis.
During our tweetchat we would like to discuss what treatment interventions you are using, whether they work and what challenges are presented when trying to manage falls in neurologically impaired adults. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Questions to consider
1. Is falls assessment and management a routine part of your practice within neuro setting?
2. When and how do you identify if a neuro patient has an increased falls risk?
3. What influences your choice of approach to manage falls with your neuro patients and how do you assess if its effective?
4. How do your patients and their families respond to falls and your interventions?
5. Are there neuro sub populations for whom falls management appears most/least effective
Pre-chat reading
Whitehead, C. H., Wundke, R. and Crotty, M. Attitudes to falls and injury prevention: what are the barriers to implementing falls prevention strategies? (2006) Clinical rehabilitation, 20(10) pp. 536–542.
Your chat hosts
Joanne Lockyear and Rebecca Partridge are both second year Physiotherapy students with a keen interest and experience of working within Neurological rehabilitation. They are hosting the chat in their role as student committee members of the Devon and Cornwall branch of South West ACPIN and will be supported by fellow committee members Danielle Munford and Christie Robinson who are both Neurological Lecturers at Plymouth University.
Missed the chat? Catch up with the transcript
