Emelie Butler Forslund

I value the combination of research and education with a strong clinical foundation as a physiotherapist. I am part of the R&D unit at Aleris Rehab Station Stockholm, which is affiliated with Karolinska Institutet through the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Clinical Geriatrics (Eric Westman’s group). I am also affiliated with Erika Franzén’s research group within the Division of Physiotherapy. Since completing my PhD, I have been engaged in research and teaching/supervision in various formats, while also working clinically at the Spinal Cord Injury Outpatient Clinic at Aleris Rehab Station Stockholm.

Regarding my research, my aim is to contribute to improved rehabilitation in order to enhance quality of life and independence in everyday activities, as well as to prevent secondary complications in individuals with neurological impairments. I defended my doctoral thesis at Karolinska Institutet in 2017. My dissertation focused on falls, fall-related injuries, and fear of falling in individuals with spinal cord injury. The project was a collaboration with Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital in Norway (SCIP Falls) and included approximately 220 participants who were followed for one year.

With regard to my clinical work as a licensed physiotherapist, I have throughout my entire professional career since 1995 worked in rehabilitation for individuals with neurological impairments, primarily people with spinal cord injuries. I aim to contribute to increased independence in everyday life, for example through assessment and adaptation of wheelchairs and walking aids, as well as through exercise and training.

My primary area of interest is individuals with neurological conditions, particularly people with spinal cord injury. I am especially interested in clinically oriented research addressing issues that affect everyday life for these individuals, such as falls, fall-related injuries, and other secondary complications. I also have a strong interest in gait, wheelchair propulsion, transfers, biomechanics, and the evaluation of assistive devices, as well as outcome measures related to these areas.

• Together with Professor Lanie Gutierrez Farewiks research group at the Promobilia MoveAbility Lab at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, I am investigating factors that influence gait in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury. We are also examining shoulder loading during wheelchair transfers in individuals with paraplegia.
• We are currently conducting an evaluation of the Wheelchair Skills Training Program at Aleris Rehab Station Stockholm, which is part of our clinical services. The project involves 80 participants who train three half-days per week for five weeks and are followed-up for two months.
• STRIVE, “Strengthening rehabilitation pathways to promote equitable recovery after spinal cord injury, ” is a national project that follows individuals with spinal cord injury during their first critical year after injury, focusing on independence, quality of life, and participation in society. The project is led by Region Skåne (Docent Sophie Jörgensen) and Region Östergötland (Docent Anestis Divanoglou) and is conducted in close collaboration with people with lived experience of spinal cord injury. Approximately 25 clinics across Sweden are participating, and I am a member of the project group.
• Together with the research group led by Docent Anna Bjerkefors at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), we are investigating various factors affecting manual wheelchair users, with a particular focus on shoulder health, as part of the Parasport Academy.

As part of a larger project on adults with spina bifida, we examined the relationship between gait and cognitive function, and we are currently working on implementing the results.Ny avhandling om vuxna som lever med ryggmärgsbråck | Karolinska Institutet Nyheter.

• ·     2024 I was awarded best poster at the Nordic Spinal Cord Society conference, and 2019 the Spinal Cord Best Original Research Paper Award for Predictors of falls in persons with spinal cord injury-a prospective study using the Downton fall risk index and a single question of previous falls http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29985457

I have been an Associate Clinical Lecturer (AKA) at Karolinska Institutet since 2022 and am responsible for teaching neurological methods to physiotherapy students together with the teaching team at KI. I also supervise students at various levels, ranging from undergraduate students and future specialist physiotherapists in neurology, to master’s students and doctoral candidates. I find great satisfaction in seeing people develop, whether in their role as patients or as students.