Rehabilitation: mobility, exercise & sports; a critical position stand on current and future research perspectives

Abstract

Background: Human movement, rehabilitation, and allied sciences have embraced their ambitions within the cycle of "RehabMove" congresses over the past 30 years. This combination of disciplines and collaborations in the Netherlands has tried to provide answers to questions in the fields of rehabilitation and adapted sports, while simultaneously generating new questions and challenges. These research questions help us to further deepen our understanding of (impaired) human movement and functioning, with and without supportive technologies, and stress the importance of continued multidisciplinary (inter)national collaboration. Methods: This position stand provides answers that were conceived by the authors in a creative process underlining the preparation of the 6th RehabMove Congress. Results: The take-home message of the RehabMove2018 Congress is a plea for continued multidisciplinary research in the fields of rehabilitation and adapted sports. This should be aimed at more individualized notions of human functioning, practice, and training, but also of performance, improved supportive technology, and appropriate "human and technology asset management" at both individual and organization levels and over the lifespan. Conclusions: With this, we anticipate to support the development of rehabilitation sciences and technology and to stimulate the use of rehabilitation notions in general health care. We also hope to help ensure a stronger embodiment of preventive and lifestyle medicine in rehabilitation practice. Indeed, general health care and rehabilitation practice require a healthy and active lifestyle management and research agenda in the context of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Continued multidisciplinary (international) collaboration will stimulate the development of rehabilitation and human movement sciences. Notions from "human and technology asset management and ergonomics" are fundamental to rehabilitation practice and research. The rehabilitation concept will further merge into general health care and the quality there-off.

Requirements for Universally Accessible Upper-Body Exercise Equipment: The Case of People with Spinal Cord Injuries in Korea

“…(5) those without orthopedic problems in the shoulder and upper limbs; (6) those who can move around the community on their own; (7) those with an onset of the disability period of longer than 1 year. Pregnant women were excluded.…”

“…In general, exercise increases activity levels and reduces secondary health problems (early death, coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, or dementia) and health costs associated with disability. Exercise can also boost the self-confidence of people with disabilities by successfully allowing engagement in physical activities and providing social opportunities to interact with people without disabilities [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Especially for individuals with paraplegia with spinal cord injuries, it is necessary to maintain continuous participation in physical activity even after discharge, as it helps to maintain mobility and daily living activities through upper body strength [10].…”

Rehabilitation Through Physical Activity and Sport in Light of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health–Current Research Perspectives

“…In order to achieve targeted rehabilitation goals, the dimensions of health, assistive devices, and accessibility must be aligned, so that people with disability can achieve participation in society and improve their quality of life. For example, by allied rehabilitation disciplines, that could enable person centered services, such as promoting health behavior in concert with mobility training and fitted assistive technology (e.g., hand bikes, wheelchairs, eHealth tools) ( 15 ).…”

RehabMove2018: active lifestyle for people with physical disabilities; mobility, exercise & sports

“…To achieve an active lifestyle for people with physical disabilities a multi-disciplinary framework is necessary, where diversity of prerequisites needs to be considered, to come to an inclusive environment providing everybody equal access to means of being active. To that end, the sixth RehabMove congress themed "Rehabilitation: Mobility, exercise & sports" aimed to bring together scientific knowledge and clinical experience on this shared challenge and strengthen the collaborative network that has been built through the years, as reviewed in the first contribution of this special issue, by Prof van der Woude, the chair of the first five congresses since 1991 [4].…”