PhD project
A research project on the Feldenkrais Method® and spinal cord injury
Cindy Allison has completed a PhD on the application of the Feldenkrais Method® to spinal cord injuries at the University of Canterbury School of Health Sciences. The purpose of her PhD was to develop a Feldenkrais® programme and to evaluate the effect of the programme on some of the negative consequence of spinal cord injury.
Her supervisors were Professor Ray Kirk and Professor Neville Blampied. Her advisers were Dr Larry Goldfarb, Feldenkrais Trainer and Movement Scientist, USA and Dr Jim Stephens, Feldenkrais Practitioner and Neuroscientist, USA.
The project was funded by:
Cindy came to the Feldenkrais Method® as a result of pain and loss of movement and proprioception. She tried many different techniques - alternative and conventional. She found that most of what she tried relieved symptoms only, made no difference or made her worse. Feldenkrais was the only intervention that made a long term difference. This led her to train in the Feldenkrais Method (completing her training in 2003) and to begin working with people with spinal cord injury in 2005.
Publications
Cindy Allison has completed a PhD on the application of the Feldenkrais Method® to spinal cord injuries at the University of Canterbury School of Health Sciences. The purpose of her PhD was to develop a Feldenkrais® programme and to evaluate the effect of the programme on some of the negative consequence of spinal cord injury.
Her supervisors were Professor Ray Kirk and Professor Neville Blampied. Her advisers were Dr Larry Goldfarb, Feldenkrais Trainer and Movement Scientist, USA and Dr Jim Stephens, Feldenkrais Practitioner and Neuroscientist, USA.
The project was funded by:
- a University of Canterbury Doctoral Scholarships for Students with Disabilities
- a Canterbury Federation of Graduate Women Trust Award (CFGW) ($1500)
- the Esther Thelen, Ph.D., G.C.F.P. Research and Education Fund of the Feldenkrais® Educational Foundation of North America (US$1500)
Cindy came to the Feldenkrais Method® as a result of pain and loss of movement and proprioception. She tried many different techniques - alternative and conventional. She found that most of what she tried relieved symptoms only, made no difference or made her worse. Feldenkrais was the only intervention that made a long term difference. This led her to train in the Feldenkrais Method (completing her training in 2003) and to begin working with people with spinal cord injury in 2005.
Publications
- Allison, C (2012). Is pain the bane of your life? Spinal Network News, 15(1), 4-5
- Allison, L. (2008) Restoring proprioception, kinaesthesia and co-ordinated movement with the Feldenkrais Method of sensory motor education. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian & New Zealand Spinal Cord Society, 26-28 Nov 2008 (Conference Poster)
- Allison, C. (2009). Improving Sensory Motor Function after a Spinal Cord Injury(SCI) Available from http://www.nzspinaltrust.org.nz/documents/sci_feldenkrais.pdf
- Allison, L. (2005). Response to Gregory C. Murphy: Criterion Problems in Rehabilitation Outcome Research. The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 11(1), 42. (Peer reviewed)
- Allison, L., & Stephens. C. (2004). The assessment of pain beliefs and their role in predicting recovery from repetitive strain injury. The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 10(1), 15-26. (Peer reviewed)
- Allison, C. (2002) Playing with movement ‘heaps of fun’ The Christchurch Press. 11 January, 2002.