Advancing treatment for impairments caused by stroke

Some Veterans have health conditions for which standard care has not yet led to full recovery. One example of this is impaired mobility after stroke. One of the ways VA advances treatment for these Veterans is through research to discover treatments that will lead to full recovery.

VA clinical researcher Dr. Dorian K. Rose is dedicated to advancing treatment that will help Veterans recover walking ability after stroke. She was recently honored by the American Physical Therapy Association with a Catherine Worthingham Fellowship. This honor from the largest and oldest groups of physical therapists recognizes excellent physical therapists who serve as an inspiration to other physical therapists.

Backward walking post-stroke

Below, Rose discusses the importance of research that focuses on working directly with patients to discover how to improve physical therapy for impairments caused by stroke.

“I’m a physical therapist by trade. I worked in a large rehab center in southwestern Pennsylvania in my scrubs or polo shirts and chinos for many years. I love that atmosphere,” she said. “I make sure the questions I ask or the grants I propose have a clinical component to them. My goal is to always design questions that can impact the care that patients receive. That has to always be in the forefront of my mind. 

“The notion of backward walking post-stroke originated from hearing physical therapists describe their experiences in the clinic and hearing patients in those clinics describing their struggles. I need to make sure I’m always bringing it back to the patient. That’s what’s critical.

“We’ve been studying backward walking for about eight years and learning more about the role it can play in recovery. There are always additional questions to explore—we keep peeling the onion. In a previous study, we examined the effectiveness of a novel Backward Walking training program to improve walking speed and balance immediately after stroke and later in stroke recovery. Results from the study showed that the backward walking improved walking speed and balance confidence more than the standard balance training program.”

Rose has a Ph.D in biokinesiology from the University of Southern California.

She joined VA in 2010 as a career development investigator at the Brain Rehabilitation Research Center at the Malcom Randall VA in Gainesville, Florida.

Read a story about Rose’s other honors. 

See the list of significant contributions VA researchers have made to advancing health care since 1925, resulting in their being awarded two Nobel Prizes.