Safe community walking is a key rehabilitation goal for individuals with motor incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Gait adaptability, the ability to modify walking to task and environmental demands, is important for community walking, and impairments in this ability likely contribute to the challenges individuals with SCI face when walking in real-world environments. This talk will explore the inclusion, appropriateness, and importance of gait adaptability in SCI rehabilitation and characterize gait adaptability after SCI. Drawing on a scoping review, perspectives of individuals with SCI and physical therapists, and quantitative findings, it will explore how individual priorities can guide walking assessment and treatment. Participants will learn about the measurement properties and clinical use of the SCI Functional Ambulation Profile (SCI-FAP), differences in spatiotemporal gait parameters and gaze behaviour after SCI, and implications for clinical practice.

Nicole is a physical therapist and completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences with a Collaborative Specialization in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with Thesis from the University of Windsor and a Master of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Toronto. Nicole’s doctoral research focused on advancing the assessment and treatment of walking in individuals with spinal cord injury, with a focus on gait adaptability. In January 2027, Nicole will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Florida and Brooks Rehabilitation, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).