Nighttime Positioning: Postural Care (Recorded Webinar)
Presented by Michelle L. Lange
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Nonfinancial: Michelle Lange has no competing nonfinancial interests or relationships with regard to the content presented in this course.
This course is a recording of a previously hosted live webinar event. Polling and question submission features are not available for this recording. Format and structure may differ from standard MedBridge courses.
The goals of wheelchair seating include managing posture and pressure as well as providing stability for function. Many wheelchair users assume an asymmetrical position during sleep and do not move out of that position for many hours. This frequently leads to loss of range of motion and even orthopedic changes, as well as discomfort and stiffness. Postural care addresses positioning outside of the wheelchair, particularly during sleep, and can be used to improve the quality and duration of sleep, promote health, and maintain safety during sleep, as well as to minimize, prevent, and even reverse range-of-motion losses and orthopedic changes.
Practitioners may not be familiar with the need for and application of this intervention. This content is applicable to physical and occupational therapists in a wide range of settings. Young children can benefit from nighttime positioning to prevent future issues. Clients who have already developed range loss and/or orthopedic changes can benefit from nighttime positioning to provide a prolonged stretch during sleep and to minimize further losses. It is critical to explore all positions that clients are in throughout a 24-hour time period.
Meet your instructor
Michelle L. Lange
Michelle is an occupational therapist with 35 years of experience and has been in private practice, Access to Independence, for over 15 years. She is a well-respected lecturer, both nationally and internationally, and has authored numerous texts, chapters, and articles. She is the coeditor of Seating and Wheeled Mobility:…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Nighttime Positioning: Terminology and Need
This chapter addresses the importance of positioning a wheelchair user throughout a 24-hour time period. Postural care primarily addresses nighttime positioning. A case study will be presented to illustrate these issues.
2. Nighttime Positioning Goals
This chapter will present goals of nighttime positioning, including improving the quality and duration of sleep, promoting health and safety during sleep, and minimizing, preventing, and even reversing range loss and orthopedic changes.
3. Nighttime Positioning Interventions: A Preventive Approach
This chapter will present commercially available sleep positioning systems, as well as low-tech options, and address strategies to position a client in a symmetrical position at night to prevent loss of range and orthopedic changes and to correct destructive positions.
4. Nighttime Positioning Interventions: Accommodating Range Loss and Orthopedic Changes
This chapter will address strategies to position a client in an optimal position at night to prevent further loss of range and orthopedic changes while also accommodating current range and orthopedic limitations.
5. Nighttime Positioning: Research and Resources
This chapter will review current research supporting the use of postural care and outline its clinical benefits.
6. Question and Answer Session
This is a viewer-submitted question and answer session, which will be facilitated by Michelle Lange.