I had the privilege of completing my first Advanced Bobath course at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. The course was themed “Exploring the relationship between core stability, single leg stance and functional reach in neurologically impaired adults.” And we were very privileged to have two fantastic tutors, Principal Bobath Tutor Mary Lynch Ellerington and Australian Bobath Tutor Kim Jennings.
Aims of the course included increased understanding of postural control and core stability as a basis for single leg stance and its relationship with reach. However as individuals outlined their own aims for the week a shared theme appeared and there was a strong desire for most to be able to improve their ability to link theoretical knowledge and reasoning with practice.
When first given the title for the course it was a little bit daunting, as it seemed to cover three topics that on their own could have been separate topics! And on initial consideration it appeared that this topic related to mainly more mobile, higher level patients, how wrong I was!
Kim delivered a lecture each morning outlining the neurophysiology and background literature related to the topics. She began to break down the complexity of the topics and their underlying principles of postural control, anticipatory postural adjustments and the role of the pontomedullary reticular formation in relation to single leg stance and functional reach. It started to become clearer how the principles that underpin these more complex tasks act as a basis for developing the components required for independent mobility for a wide scope of patients.
This was demonstrated further within patient demonstrations. They illustrated how the principles that we were exploring in lectures and practical sessions could be applied. Both focused on linking theory with practice and began to make me think more of my own clinical justification for treatment rather than using techniques “just because they work!” It was amazing to watch as both patients, who had previously required walking aids or orthoses, achieved a degree of independent walking at the end of their treatment sessions.
One of the most enjoyable and valuable learning experiences for me was the practical sessions, where we had the opportunity to practice our handling and facilitation. The tutors helped us fine tune skills gained on basic courses as well as exploring and developing new skills and adaptations. Patient treatment sessions allowed us to take this one stage further and implement our newly honed handling skills with the patient population. As you may expect this was not always easy as our patient had co existing medical problems that influenced our treatment choice and facilitation, which allowed further discussion between my partner and I. The close supervision and guidance of both tutors, helped steer us in the right direction, with positive results.
The course has helped build my confidence in my own handling, facilitation and clinical reasoning, helping me to continue to improve in my practice. I was very fortunate to attend such a well-organized and structured course, along with a fantastic group of like-minded therapists. I would like to thank BBTA for awarding me the Olav Gjelsvik Memorial Award, allowing me to attend a very thought provoking, valuable and enjoyable learning experience.
