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Physiotherapy in Neurology I

Code: 102988
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Physiotherapy OB 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Jordi Cuartero Archs
Email :
jordi.cuartero@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Jesus Pérez Pérez
Sandra Alonso Marsol
Jordi Cuartero Archs
Raul Martinez Fernandez

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

To have acquired the necessary knowledge of physiology and anatomy to interpret the basic concepts of diseases of the nervous system.

Objectives

The syllabus is organized into four blocks following a teaching sequence based on clinical reasoning, with the aim of facilitating the progressive integration of knowledge. Students first acquire the foundations of clinical neurology, then learn to interpret the major neurological syndromes, gain an understanding of the most prevalent disorders of the nervous system, and finally integrate this knowledge into the functional assessment and therapeutic management of neurological patients through clinical case-based learning.

Learning outcomes

  1. Apply the basic physiotherapy methods, procedures and interventions to nervous system conditions.
  2. Use physiotherapy to treat clinical cases involving neurological conditions.
  3. Describe the bases for assessing nervous system conditions.
  4. Apply advanced evaluation procedures in physiotherapy in order to determine the degree of damage to the nervous system and possible functional repercussions.
  5. Design therapeutic exercises and activities for neurological diseases.
  6. Describe and analyse the evidence-based physiotherapy protocols for nervous system disorders.
  7. Describe and analyse the quality-assurance mechanisms of physiotherapy in treatments for the nervous system.
  8. Make the most correct decisions in given situations.
  9. Work in teams.
  10. Display critical reasoning skills.
  11. Establish diagnostic physiotherapy hypotheses through clinical cases with disorders of the nervous system.
  12. Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
  13. Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
  14. Propose new methods or well-founded alternative solutions.
  15. Weigh up the risks and opportunities of suggestions for improvement: one's own and those of others.
  16. Propose new ways to measure success or failure when implementing innovative proposals or ideas.
  17. Identify the social, economic and environmental implications of academic and professional activities within one?s own area of knowledge.
  18. Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
  19. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  20. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
  21. Communicate using language that is not sexist.
  22. Identify the principal forms of sex- or gender-based inequality present in society.
  23. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.

Contents

Block I. Foundations of Clinical Neurology

  1. Anatomical and functional review of the nervous system.
  2. Neurological history taking: clinical history and major neurological symptoms.
  3. Neurological examination.
  4. Clinical reasoning in neurology: interpretation of the neurological examination and lesion localization.
  5. Ancillary investigations in neurology: neuroimaging, neurophysiology, and laboratory testing.

Block II. From Symptom to Disease: A Syndromic Approach to Neurology

  1. Disorders of language, speech, swallowing, and cognitive function.
  2. Disorders of movement, gait, balance, and the vestibular system.
  3. Neuro-ophthalmology and brainstem syndromes.
  4. Neuromuscular weakness and abnormalities of muscle tone: clinical approach and differential diagnosis.
  5. Sensory disorders, neuropathic pain, and autonomic nervous system dysfunction.

Block III. Major Neurological Disorders

  1. Cerebrovascular diseases: ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.
  2. Acquired traumatic neurological disorders: traumatic brain injury and traumatic spinal cord injury.
  3. Cognitive disorders: Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
  4. Demyelinating and autoimmune diseases of the nervous system.
  5. Motor neuron diseases: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other motor neuron disorders.
  6. Movement disorders: Parkinson's disease and other extrapyramidal disorders.
  7. Cerebellar and vestibular disorders: ataxias, vertigo, and other vestibular disorders.
  8. Disorders of the spinal cord and nerve roots: myelopathies and radiculopathies.
  9. Disorders of the peripheral nervous system, neuromuscular junction, and muscle.
  10. Paroxysmal disorders and autonomic nervous system dysfunction: epilepsy, syncope, and dysautonomia.
  11. Infections and tumors of the nervous system.
  12. Headache disorders, neuropathic pain, and other sensory disorders.
  13. Psychiatry and neuropsychiatry: major psychiatric disorders and neuropsychiatric manifestations of neurological diseases.
  14. Pediatric neurological disorders: cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
  15. Neurological disorders in older adults: ageing, frailty, and geriatric syndromes.

Block IV. Functional Assessment and Therapeutic Management of the Neurological Patient

  1. Functional assessment in neurological physiotherapy.
  2. Principles of evidence-based neurorehabilitation and physiotherapy management.
  3. Pharmacological treatment and other therapeutic interventions in neurology.
  4. Interdisciplinary management of the neurological patient.
  5. Integrated management of the neurological patient through clinical cases: functional assessment, therapeutic management, participation, and quality of life.


Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
SELF- STUDY 64 2.56
THEORY 30 1.2
PLAB 15 0.6
WRITTEN EVALUATION (TOPICS) 38 1.52

Teaching is based in theoretical and practical classes

Students may use artificial intelligence tools to assist with linguistic correction of their work, but not as content generators. Improper use may be considered a breach of academic integrity.


Any irregularity committed during an assessment activity (including academic misconduct, plagiarism, or the improper use of artificial intelligence, unless such use is explicitly authorized in the course syllabus) that may result in a significant alteration of the assessment outcome will lead to a grade of 0 for that assessment. If the course syllabus specifies that obtaining a minimum grade in that assessment is a mandatory requirement to pass the course, or if multiple irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the student's final grade for the course will be 0. In addition, any student who commits such irregularities may be subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Written evaluation (topics) 25% 0 0 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Attendance and active participation in class and seminars 5% 0 0 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20
Written evaluation (test with multiple choice questions) 50% 1 0.04 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23
PRACTICAL EVALUATION (skills achieved in neurological evaluation) 20% 2 0.08 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 12, 14, 16

SINGLE ASSESSMENT

This subject does not provide the single assessment system

Avaluation:

1-Written evaluation (tests with multiple choice questions)

-Duration: 1 h

Description of the evaluation test:

Multi answer test with 30 questions, 4 options per question, one correct

Evaluation criteria:

Correct answers: 1

Wrong answers: -0.30

Blank answers: 0

Minimum mark to pass: 5 over 10

Schedule: 01 2022

Percentage on the final grade: 50%

Students must obtain at least a grade of at least 5 in the written evaluation to pass

2-Written evaluation (topics)

-Duration: continuous

Evaluation criteria. Students must submit a written work of c.500 words. Writen works will be assessed on:

. The coherence of the topics order

. The content closely matches the proposed topic

. The pertinent balance between the different parts of the work (relationship between the importance of the point to be treated and the space it occupies in the totality of the work)

. The ability to synthesize:

o Presents the main points of the work

o Perform correct clinical reasoning

o Express thoughts in order (from the simplest to the most complex)

. The use of bibliographic sources:

o Adaptation of the sources used with the subject matter

o Use updated bibliographic sources

o Bibliographic references are fully described (Vancouver norms or others)

Minimum mark to pass: 5 over 10

Schedule: Sept 2025 – January 2026

Percentage on the final grade: 25%

3-Practical evaluation

-Duration: 2 h

Evaluation criteria: to demonstrate the skills achieved in the neurological evaluation and the classroom practices.

Minimum mark to pass: 5 over 10

Schedule: Nov 2025

Percentage on the final grade: 20%

4- Attendance and active participation in class and seminars

Evaluation criteria: active participation, behavior and interest of the student in the theoretical classes and classroom practices. Only attendance at classroom practices will be taken into acount in this section

Schedule: Sept 2025 – January 2026

Percentage on the final grade: 5%

When the final grade of the whole evaluation of the student is ≥4 and <5, the student may request to make a THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL REASSESSMENT EVALUATION. In this case, if the student pass it, the final grade will be 5.

It will be considered that the student is NOT EVALUABLE when he has not submitted to the written test, whose realization is essential to be evaluated.


Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Any irregularity committed during an assessment activity (including academic misconduct, plagiarism, or the improper use of artificial intelligence, unless such use is explicitly authorized in the course syllabus) that may result in a significant alteration of the assessment outcome will lead to a grade of 0 for that assessment. If the course syllabus specifies that obtaining a minimum grade in that assessment is a mandatory requirement to pass the course, or if multiple irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the student's final grade for the course will be 0. In addition, any student who commits such irregularities may be subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Bibliography

Bibliografia específica

- Neurología. Zarranz Imirizaldu, [J. J. Madrid etc.] Elsevier Science, DL 2018 

Bibliografia de consulta

- Principles of neurologic rehabilitation New York [etc.] : McGraw-Hill, 1997

- Exploración neurológica fácil  Fuller, Geraint Barcelona [etc.] : Elsevier, cop. 2011

- Neurología Clínica 4e 2vBradley. Editorial: Elsevier (Año: 2005)

- Neurología para fisioterapeutas : Cash  Buenos Aires [etc.] : Médica panamericana, 1989

- De Jong's THE NEUROLOGIC EXAMINATION. William Campbell. Ed Wolters Kuwer / Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013

Recursos d’Internet

- Guia de pràctica clínica de l’ictus. Catalunya 2007 (web site). Barcelona: Agència d’Avaluació de Tecnologia i Recerca Mèdiques; 2007 (cited June 18, 2008). Available from: http://www.gencat.net/salut/depsan/units/sanitat/html/ca/dir491/index.html.

- Guidelines for adult stroke rehabilitation and recovery: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Winstein, Stein et al. Stroke. Stroke.2017;48(2):e78

Software

No specific software is required

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 201 Catalan/Spanish first semester afternoon
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 201 Catalan first semester afternoon
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 202 Catalan first semester afternoon
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 203 Catalan first semester afternoon
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 204 Catalan first semester afternoon