Respiratory Physiotherapy for Neurological Conditions
We help to prevent and minimise chest infections in people living with neurological disorders. Our highly skilled team focus on optimising lung function through the review of care routines, active interventions and the careful use of assistive technology.
Our home-based respiratory physiotherapy services
At Active Edge Physio Melbourne, we are uniquely qualified to manage acute respiratory dysfunction. Pneumonia and respiratory insufficiency are common in people with neurological disorders such as spinal cord injury, acquired or traumatic brain injury, Guillain-Barré syndrome, motor neurone disease, myasthenia gravis, muscular dystrophy, multi system atrophy and myositis. People with these conditions may find it difficult to take a deep breath and cough effectively – respiratory physiotherapy can help.
Minimising and preventing pneumonia is important to live life to the fullest and to stay out of hospital. We are highly skilled in reversing lung collapse and clearing sputum in complex scenarios where taking a deep breath and coughing is challenging. We are able to work with people living with disabilities and their carers to optimise lung function, either through set up of a maintenance program or an active physiotherapy regime to help with rapid recovery from a chest infection. This can be either face-to-face if you reside within our service area or alternatively via an online consultation through our outreach clinic.
Prevent Complications
We have many years of experience working in acute hospital and critical care settings, routinely using and prescribing volume restoration devices such as the Philips Respironics CoughAssist, Taleb Medical Nippy clearway, AirLiquide Alpha 300, non-invasive and invasive ventilation. We are also highly competent in suctioning and tracheostomy management.
Our physiotherapists have identified a need for greater physiotherapy support for lung health in the community and are excited to provide this unique respiratory service.
If you are requiring this service, we may be able to travel out of our listed areas to visit you. For further information, please fill in our contact form, call us on (03) 8609 1019 or email us on reception@active-edge-physio.com.au
How our assessments set us apart
Assistive Technology we use to Enhance our Assessments
Portable spirometry is a convenient and effective way to assess and measure lung function at home. For people living with neurological disabilities, portable spirometry is crucial to monitor respiratory function, guide treatment decisions, improve outcomes and quantify respiratory function in critical or deteriorating situations.
Our spirometer measures how much air a person can inhale and exhale, as well as how quickly they can exhale. Some key measures that we commonly use are Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 Second (FEV1) and Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF).
Overnight oxygen monitoring can be used for anyone with lung and/or sleep dysfunction. Our clients can loan an overnight oxygen monitoring ring at no cost, which is a screening tool that evaluates blood oxygen levels and can be easily done at home with minimal extra supports.
Blood oxygen levels help show whether a person has enough oxygen in their body. Sleep apnea and respiratory disorders can impact on oxygen levels.
By identifying low oxygen levels during sleep, we are able to develop an action plan to address this which can minimise risk of future complications. The oxygenation monitoring ring emits a red light through the finger it is worn on, measures the colour of the blood and subsequently oxygen levels continuously when it is worn. Data are recorded continuously over the course of the night and will result in a graph, which your physiotherapist can review and determine if there are any abnormal drops in your oxygen levels.
Measuring respiratory muscle strength, in other words, the strength of the inspiratory muscles (maximal inspiratory pressure or MIP) and expiratory muscles (maximal expiratory pressure or MEP), is crucial in evaluating lung function in people living with neurological disorders. These measurements provide valuable insights into the functioning of the respiratory muscles and are essential for monitoring disease progression, predicting likelihood of complications and proactively addressing risks, as well as guiding therapeutic interventions like respiratory muscle strength training.
Utilising respiratory muscle testing as part of our assessment is important as it allows us to detect any respiratory changes (improvement or decline) accurately and reliably before it impacts on other more blunt assessments like blood oxygen levels. It also allows us to customise our respiratory strength training programs to ensure they are as effective as possible, such as during inspiratory or expiratory muscle training.
Mechanical Insufflation-Exsufflation is vital for patients who cannot generate an effective cough due to weakened respiratory muscles.
Our team have a Philips Respironics Mechanical Insufflation-Exsufflation E70 Machine that is available to our clients to trial and/or hire. Mechanical Cough Assist is a non-invasive device that applies positive air pressure to the lungs, inflating them, followed by negative pressure which creates a strong expiratory flow. This helps people living with respiratory insufficiency take a deep breath and cough effectively to clear secretions from the lungs.
Some benefits of Mechanical Cough Assist include enhanced airway clearance, improved oxygenation, reduced hospitalisations and better quality of life. Overall, utilisation of Mechanical Insufflation-Exsufflation has the potential to reduce the incidence and severity of complications such as pneumonia and drastically improve respiratory stability within the home environment. Our team are highly trained in implementation of these programs within the home environment which includes training of all carers and provision of written resources to ensure safety, effectiveness and empowerment of our clients and the teams around them.
We have many years of experience working in acute hospital and critical care settings, routinely using and prescribing volume restoration devices such as the Philips Respironics E70 Cough Assist, Taleb Medical Nippy clearway, non-invasive and invasive ventilation. We are also highly competent in suctioning and tracheostomy management.
Our team provide education to physiotherapists who wish to upskill in the area of respiratory management in people living with complex neurological disabilities. This is our way of giving back to our colleagues with the mission to improve care nationally and internationally of this complex patient population. For more information, visit the Neuro Respiratory Physiotherapy Academy
Our physiotherapists have identified a need for greater physiotherapy support for lung health in the community and are excited to provide this unique respiratory service.
If you are requiring this service, we may be able to travel out of our listed areas to visit you. For further information, please fill in our contact form, call us on (03) 8609 1019 or email us on reception@active-edge-physio.com.au