David Morris, Ph.D., has trained physical therapists in the Czech Republic on how to perform the UAB-developed constraint-induced (CI) movement therapy. Morris, vice chair and associate professor in the UAB Department of Physical Therapy, spent four days training PTs at the Klimkovice Health Spa near Ostrava.
CI Therapy was developed at UAB by neuroscientist Edward Taub, Ph.D., to improve motor function in adults following a stroke, multiple sclerosis or traumatic brain injury. Patients can learn to improve movement of the weaker parts of their bodies by constraining the stronger side.
The Klimkovice facility is a rehabilitation center and health spa for individuals with disabilities that treats patients from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The institution is developing a CI Therapy program based on the one developed at UAB. Morris is the training coordinator for the UAB CI Therapy Research Team.