ResearchWorks Podcast

15/10/2025

"The absence of evidence is not the absence of efficacy"
It is a nice catchphrase that is actually true for every single non-evidence based practice, irrespective of whether the intervention works or not.
The onus is on practitioners (and the developers of new interventions) to show efficacy before implementing and teaching the intervention to 100's of therapists. There is currently no published research on DMI or CME to back the claims of efficacy.
We believe it is imperative that families and clinicians need a more balanced and informed view of non-evidence based interventions. This is vital to ensure that an informed choice can be made.
"You have to do the work"
www.researchworks.net/quicklinks

13/10/2025

This week on the pod, we discuss the paper "Where's the Evidence? Challenging Therapists to Stop Legitimizing Dynamic Movement Intervention and Cuevas Medek Exercises" published in Pediatric Physical Therapy in September 2025.
The paper has sparked robust conversation and interest so this episode talks through some of the main feedback themes as well as the heart behind the paper.
As practicing clinicians in our respective fields, representing tertiary, community and low to middle income resource settings, this is truly a wonderful conversation that brings forth why evidence based practice is so vital for the field.
Listen to the pod on your podcast platform of choice, visit our YouTube channel for a multi language videocast and click on the link below to read the paper for FREE!
https://researchworks.net/quicklinks

12/10/2025

"Where’s the Evidence? Challenging Therapists to Stop Legitimizing Dynamic Movement Intervention and Cuevas Medek Exercises".
This phenomenal paper is the collaborative result of work from the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. With giants of the field, it is an all-star line up speaking about the importance of following the evidence. And best of all, the paper is open-access and FREE!
Today we chat with 5 of the authors of the paper - to bring clarity to this topic, to show where the science is pointing, with influential and highly respected members of the European (EACD), American (AACPDM) and Oceania (formerly AusACPDM) academies.
We're advocating for giving health professionals and families the ability to make an informed decision on DMI and CME by providing the current state of the evidence.
Check out today's podcast (it's available on YouTube in multi-language as well as on all good audio-podcast platforms) and read the paper at the link below!
https://journals.lww.com/pedpt/fulltext/9900/where_s_the_evidence__challenging_therapists_to.204.aspx

06/10/2025

Another great episode is out now!!

This week, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr Karina Zapata - a pediatric physical therapist and researcher at Scottish Rite for Children in Dallas, TX. Her work blends clinical care with research on functional mobility in children with complex conditions like spina bifida.

Her article titled : 6 minute walk test reference values in ambulatory children with myelomeningocele, was published recently on Developmental Medicine Child Neurology.

This was a fantastic discussion, a masterclass on assessment in children with spina bifida.

Don’t forget to register for ResearchWorks.academy to check out the outcome measures hub. Not only have we already included measures from this paper but there’s is so much more!

Enjoy!

28/09/2025

This week we catch up with the incredible Dr Colleen Peyton from Northwestern University !
We're discussing her paper: Trajectories of Fidgety Movements in Infants with and without medical complexity.
It's another American Academy for Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) 2025 sneak peak!
A sneak peek at an incredible paper to be presented at AACPDM 2025 in New Orleans! This paper is a contender for the AACPDM’s highest abstract honour - the Gayle G Arnold Award!
Join us for a fabulous interview discussing an amazing paper - and discovering the differences that unite Americans 🇺🇸 and Australians 🇦🇺 ....hint... it's not vegemite! 😉
Visit www.researchworks.net for a full episode by episode run down over the seasons and visit www.researchworks.academy for an interactive resource for clinicians and researchers - it's FREE!

22/09/2025

Let's talk about the elephant in the room! 🐘
Today, a special communication was published in the journal: Pediatric Physical Therapy. The great news is that is open access and available for anyone to read right now - for FREE!
This article: "Where’s the Evidence? Challenging Therapists to Stop Legitimizing Dynamic Movement Intervention and Cuevas Medek Exercises" is the result of an international collaborative effort to challenge therapists to stop legitimizing non evidence-based interventions.
Here, the evidence is presented and is discussed in a way that has never been done before.
Ultimately, a balanced and informed decision is a good decision and that is all that the authors wish to be able to contribute into this space.
The authors are leaders of their field and include:
Dr Ginny Paleg, Dr Dayna Pool, Professor Álvaro Hidalgo-Robles, Associate Professor David Frumberg, Clinical Assistant Professor Roslyn Livingstone and Professor Diane Damiano.
The release of this paper in an open access/FREE format, allows families and clinicians to understand where the evidence points to, the consensus of the research community and give them the opportunity to make an informed decision.
Click on the link in below to read the article (for FREE!)
https://journals.lww.com/pedpt/fulltext/9900/where_s_the_evidence__challenging_therapists_to.204.aspx

20/09/2025

Have you heard of vibration therapy? What's the evidence?
Join us on this week's episode as we talk to Dr Christopher Modlesky about his research titled: "Effect of high-frequency, low magnitude vibration on physical activity and physical function in children with cerebral palsy: a randomised controlled trial."
Dr. Christopher Modlesky is the Athletic Association Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Georgia He earned his PhD in Exercise Science from UGA in 2002. Leading the Neuromusculoskeletal Health Laboratory, his research focuses on bone and muscle health in children with movement disorders, such as cerebral palsy, utilising MRI and vibration therapy to investigate physical activity interventions and mitigate long-term musculoskeletal deficits.
The scientific merit of this study has been recognised by being a finalist for the Gayle G Arnold award at the upcoming American Academy for Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) conference in New Orleans.
Listen to the pod on your favourite audio podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more!) or check out the video-cast on our YouTube channel!
You can even select the language of your choice in the settings of the video! Spanish? 🇪🇸 ¡No hay problema! French? 🇫🇷 Pas de problème !, Japanese? 🇯🇵 問題ない！ 😉
Visit the links below!
www.researchworks.net
www.researchworks.academy
www.youtube.com/

14/09/2025

On today's pod we catch up with Dr Arianna Trionfo MD - to discuss her team's work which is up for the highest abstract honour at the upcoming American Academy for Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) New Orleans Conference - the Gayle G Arnold Award.
Her paper is titled "The effect of immediate weight bearing after planovalgus foot reconstruction in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy".
This paper is part of a larger body of work - reporting on the outcomes from orthopaedic intervention at Nemours KidsHealth in Delaware. This interview is not only masterclass from a wonderful communicator, clinician and researcher, it is an exciting preview into the hot topics and educational sessions that will be featured at the conference this year.
Listen to the pod on your favourite audio podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more!) or check out the video-cast on our YouTube channel!
You can even select the language of your choice in the settings of the video! Spanish? 🇪🇸 ¡No hay problema! French? 🇫🇷 Pas de problème !, Japanese? 🇯🇵 問題ない！ 😉
www.youtube.com/
www.researchworks.net/quicklinks

07/09/2025

This week we catch up with Elizabeth Maus (PhD Candidate).
We're discussing her DMCN article: Mobility device use in children with cerebral palsy, published in May 2025!
Elizabeth is a pediatric physical therapist who has worked with children with cerebral palsy and other motor disabilities for over 15 years. Elizabeth is now a PhD candidate in the Pediatric Assessment and Rehabilitation Lab at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, USA where her research focuses on accessible and effective interventions for children with motor disability and their families.
Join us for an amazing look at another great article - and our advice for one snack, one book, one movie to keep you occupied on a deserted island 🏝️ (though one of our hosts cheated...) 😉
The ResearchWorks podcast is available on all good podcast platforms, including Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music and you'll even find our video-cast on our Youtube channel (now available in multi-language!).
Visit researchworks.net for an episode guide to all 5 seasons of the pod and visit researchworks.academy for your FREE login to our online digital platform (with courses launching soon)!

31/08/2025

This week we chat with Dr. Stina Oftedal, an accredited practicing dietitian and postdoctoral research fellow at the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre at The The University of Queensland , specialising in paediatric nutrition and rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy (CP).
Her work has been focused on diet, physical activity, and growth outcomes in children with CP exploring modifiable health behaviours like dietary habits and activity levels, their links to growth, body composition, and diet quality in children with CP.
This study investigated the longitudinal relationship between the extent of brain lesions assessed via semi-quantitative MRI scoring and growth as well as body composition in a population-based cohort of 124 children with cerebral palsy, aged 18 months to 13 years. Don’t miss this one—tune in for some incredible insights and even a tip on why breakfast is the best meal all-day long! 😉
Visit the ResearchWorks Academy website (www.researchworks.academy) for FREE educational tools, tips, information and courses, alongside AI infused article chats and machine learning powered tools!
NB. You can still visit the dedicated ResearchWorks podcast site at researchworks.net

23/08/2025

⭐️ And we're back! ⭐️
To kick off the second half of our 5th season, we are joined by American Academy for Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) first Vice President Theresa Sukal-Moulton, Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University and the Scientific Program Committee Co-Chair: Dr Paige Church - Director of the NICU Growth and Developmental Support Programs at Boston Children’s Hospital.
A wonderful, fun and inspiring conversation about the upcoming conference in New Orleans and a preview of an education session on the topic of Time Toxicity - a concept we all need to know about because of its profound impact on the well being of the children and families we work with.
The pod is available to stream on our website (www.researchworks.net), on all good audio podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple podcasts, YouTube music and more) and you can view the videocast on our YouTube channel!
Bonus tip! You can now select from multiple audio streams - from English to Spanish to French and more! Click on the cogwheel to select your video quality (4K, 1080p etc) and you can now select the language of your choice!
Who knew that Ash and Dayna are fluent in over a dozen different languages? 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnRdxaWS8bY
Visit https://www.aacpdm.org/events/2025 to find out more about the upcoming AACPDM 2025 conference! There's still time to register 🥰

Our preview of the upcoming AACPDM Conference in New Orleans USA.We look ahead at The American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM)...

24/07/2025

We had some fantastic conversations with CanChild researchers! Leaders of the field and so generous with their knowledge!

The ResearchWorks Podcast partnered with this year’s EACD / IAACD Heidelberg 2025 Conference — featuring conversations with CanChild team members including Ginney Paleg, Iona Novak, Christine Imms, Darcy Fehlings, Hercules Leite, Thorsten Langer, Jill Zwicker, and Paula Chagas!

👉 Click here to listen to the episodes: https://researchworks.net/