This workshop will outline a clinical reasoning process for the analysis and training of walking after stroke

Workshop format

Dates: 4th & 18th August 2025

This workshop will be presented over 2 x 4-hr sessions and will be run via Zoom from 6pm to 10pm Sydney, Australia time (AEST)

Participants will be asked to complete homework before each session.

Target audience:

Physiotherapists, occupational therapists and exercise physiologists who work with people with neurological conditions and/or older people in inpatient, outpatient or community settings, in private or public settings.

Learning outcomes

At the completion of this workshop, participants should be able to;

Explain the kinematics and kinetics of walking
Identify common kinematic deviations seen in people with stroke during walking
Discuss potential impairments that can contribute to common kinematic deviations seen in people with stroke during walking
Describe evidence-based training strategies to address the common kinematic deviations seen in people with stroke when walking

Workshop content

The homework for Session 1 includes watching recorded lectures about the biomechanics of walking, the contribution of impairments post-stroke to walking problems, and optional content on the biomechanics of the trunk, spasticity after stroke and strength after stroke.

Session 1 covers the following content:

• consolidation of walking biomechanics

• video analysis

• prioritising kinematic deviations

• listing potential impairments

• Identifying strategies for testing the contribution of impairments to kinematic deviations

The homework for Session 2 includes recorded lecture content on evidence-based training of walking after stroke. Attendees will be asked to prepare a case study of a stroke survivor’s walking, with identification and prioritisation of the kinematic deviations, description of the testing strategies used and conclusions about priorities for training.

Session 2 contains:

Presentation of case studies
Features of effective training:

Delivery of practice
Amounts of practice
Progression of practice
Measurement
Application of principles of effective training to case studies

Presenters:

Sarah Fitzhenry - Sarah Fitzhenry is a physiotherapist with over 18 years of clinical experience. Based across Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, she is a Neurological Specialist Physiotherapist having completed her Fellowship with the Australian College of Physiotherapists. Sarah is the advanced physiotherapist for a subacute rehabilitation hospital, has a small neurological physiotherapy consultancy practice and is an adjunct lecturer for the Australian Catholic University. She has been involved in research into patients access through rehabilitation services and experiences of Allied Health professionals supporting enriched environments for stroke survivors.

Dr Simone Dorsch - Simone is a physiotherapy clinician, researcher and educator. She has 20+ years experience in stroke, brain injury and aged care rehabilitation. Simone is an Associate Professor at the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney. Research and publications: Simone has published many peer reviewed journal articles. Her research focuses on the relationship between loss of strength and activity limitations and strategies to increase amounts of practice in rehabilitation