The Bobath concept is the most widely used neuro-rehabilitation approach worldwide, and considers the impact of the neurological condition on the whole person within their individual context. The clinical application of the Bobath concept focuses on movement analysis with respect to selective movement, postural control and the role of sensory information to develop a movement diagnosis guiding treatment and evaluation.

Introduction

A clearly defined model of Bobath clinical practice has been lacking in the current evidence base. This creates confusion as to what actually the Bobath concept is in clinical practice and leads to misinterpretation and misrepresentation within the literature.

The IBITA Education Committee commenced work on developing a Model of Bobath Clinical Practice under the leadership of Susan Ryerson in 2008. This model is the clinical parallel to the publication by Vaughan-Graham et al., (2009) which outlines the theoretical underpinning of a contemporary Bobath concept.

The aim of this model is to identify what is unique to the Bobath concept in terms of contemporary neurorehabilitation. The model is not a model of ‘best practice’ and therefore does not seek to include all of the basic requirements of assessment that every therapist would routinely undertake.

The model seeks to identify the following:

• Aspects of clinical practice that are a focus of the Bobath concept
• Relationships that are unique to the Bobath concept
• Provision of a framework for research