Da Vinci In Motion Clinical, Educational & Research Neurophysiotherapy Services

I am a specialist neuro-physiotherapist, with advanced knowledge and expertise gained through over 24 years clinical experience of working with people, who have neurological conditions to enable them to achieve their optimal rehabilitation potential.  I work as an advanced 'hands on' practitioner who comprehensively assesses all aspects of movement, sensation, muscle power, balance, co-ordination, mobility, walking and function in an initial assessment appointment of 1.5 hours. This includes taking a full subjective history with details of any medical tests, diagnoses and treatments that the individual may have received and to understand and discuss potential treatment goals. I have extensive experience of working with people who have neurological injuries and diseases, including stroke, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), acquired brain injury, sub-arrachnoid haemorrhage, TIAs, brain and spinal tumours, incomplete spinal cord injury, Parkinsons Disease (PD), neuropathies, guillain barre syndrome, transverse myelitis, cerebellar disorders (ataxia), post neuro-surgical conditions. I also have experience of supporting individuals to improve posture, movement, strength and quality of life after general, orthopaedic and cancer surgery.  

In addition, I am a Consultant Research Fellow and work as a core member of the Cross Specialty Research Team, led by Dr Mohamed Sakel, MRCP, UK, Neuro-rehabilitation Service Director for East Kent and Consultant Physician in Rehabilitation Medicine. In this role, I work on a diverse range of clinical and qualitative research projects, which have included 3 robotic research studies into balance using an exoskeleton. I am currently working as a Co-Investigator into the following clinical research trial: Home-based EEG neurofeedback to reduce chronic neuropathic pain, a cohort clinical trial. NCT Registration: NCT05464199

I have achieved a postgraduate qualification in Qualitative Research Methods from the University of Oxford and have completed a range of qualitative research studies, including one on 'Long Covid'.  I have received Awards from NHS England for Clinical Leadership and the Research & Innovation Department at EKHUFT for Clinical Research projects with the Neuro-rehabilitation Service Director.

I am also a part-time PhD doctoral student at the University of Kent, where I am undertaking research into the long-term health issues experienced by people living with traumatic brain injury in Kent.  This research is funded by a scholarship grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which I competed for successfully and won in 2020.  This PhD runs from 2020 to 2025 and is allied to the Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) in Kent Surrey and Sussex.

Recent appointments:

• Review Editor for the Rehabilitation in Neurological Conditions section of the Frontiers Open Science platform and publishing journal (January 2022 to date).
• International Advisor to Kent Brain Injury Foundation charity organisation (October 2021 to date)
• Honorary Professor in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Jashore University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh (April 2021 to date).

Research and education profile links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-saunders-2139b87a/

Research profile link:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karen_Saunders9

Medico-legal:  I am registered as an independent Medico-legal Expert Witness with NRC Medical Experts https://www.nnrc.org.uk/our-approach/expert-profiles/#specialist-neurotherapistand have experience in the assessment of medico-legal clients and report writing. 

I am regularly invited to present keynote lectures and conference presentations in the UK and at international conferences. For example - 2 Keynote lectures at the NeuroConvention Birmingham NEC (July 2022) – PhD research into the long term health challenges of people who have survived traumatic brain injury & Rehabilitation research into balance using a robotic exoskeleton.

I have co-authored over 30 publications within the field of neuro-rehabilitation research and healthcare.

I have a professional twitter account  @K_neurorobotics