Helping physical therapy patients thrive, Florida researchers advance rehabilitation science

Never underestimate the power of hallway conversations, especially among scientific researchers and clinicians. Sometimes these casual talks can lead to major breakthroughs in health care — like finding new ways for patients with spinal cord injuries to breathe and live better.
 
One of these collaborative conversations began a decade ago, when Emily Fox, Ph.D., P.T. — a faculty member in the University of Florida’s College of Public Health and Health Professions, or PHHP, who served as a research scientist at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville — was talking with her Brooks clinician colleagues about a new trend in patients with spinal cord injuries. 
 
Several of these patients had received diaphragm stimulators while in acute care to improve their breathing and speech. But, as patients with these devices transitioned to the rehabilitation phase, practitioners had little knowledge about how to properly care for them.
 
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