Dirk-Wouter Smits

University Medical Center Utrecht | UMC Utrecht · Brain Center Rudolf Magnus

Background: Interest in patient involvement in research is growing. Research should rather be 'with' or 'by' patients, and not only be 'about' or 'for' patients. Patients' active involvement in research is not self-evident and special efforts have to be made. If we make efforts towards patient involvement, it could contribute to even more relevant...

Aim: To determine the long-term development of autonomy in participation of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) without intellectual disability. Method: Individuals with CP (n=189, 117 males, 72 females; mean age [SD] 21y 11mo [4y 11mo], range 12-34y); were assessed cross-sectionally (46%) or up to four times (54%), between the ages of 12 and 3...

Objective To explore participation in social roles of adolescents (aged 12-18y) with cerebral palsy (CP), in terms of satisfaction compared with accomplishment. Design Cohort study as part of a prospective longitudinal research program. Setting Clinic. Participants Participants were adolescents (N=45; 58% male, mean age 15y 6mo) with CP at level...

Background: A good understanding of developmental trajectories is crucial for making prognoses, planning interventions, and monitoring progress in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. Our study aimed to describe developmental trajectories of mobility and self-care capability in a large sample of children and adolescents with cerebral pals...

Video abstract: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2018/10/02/peds.2017-3723 OBJECTIVES: Describe development curves of motor and daily activity performance in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: Participants with CP aged 1 to 20 years at baseline (n = 421) and Gross Motor Functioning Classification System (GMFCS) leve...

This study examined the criterion validity of self-reported running-related injuries (RRI) by novice runners. Fifty-eight participants (41 females; age 46 ± 11 yrs) of the “Start-to-Run” program provided self-reports on their RRIs using an online questionnaire. Subsequently, they attended injury consultations with sports medicine physicians who pro...

Introduction/Background Knowledge on long-term development can guide expectations of young individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) and their parents and inform treatment decisions. In children with CP, development of motor capacity has been described using development curves. The present study adds to this knowledge by describing development curves of...

Background Participation in society can be difficult for adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). Information is often based on quantitative studies, and little is known about their personal participation experiences. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the participation experiences of adolescents (aged 12‐17 years) with CP. Methods A qua...

Objective: Investigating differences in hip muscle strength between athletes with Achilles tendinopathy (AT) and asymptomatic controls. Design: Cross-sectional case-control study. Setting: Sports medical center. Participants: Twelve recreational male athletes with mid-portion AT and twelve matched asymptomatic controls. Outcome measures: I...

Background: In soccer, although hamstring flexibility is thought to play a major role in preventing hamstring injuries, the relationship between hamstring flexibility and hamstring injuries remains unclear. Purpose: To investigate the relationship between hamstring flexibility and hamstring injuries in male amateur soccer players. Study design:...

Aims: We aimed to determine factors associated with the longitudinal development of social participation in a Dutch population of individuals with Cerebral Palsy (CP) aged 1-24 years. Methods and procedures: For this multicentre prospective longitudinal study, 424 individuals with CP aged 1-24 years were recruited from various rehabilitation cen...

Objective: To examine associations over longitudinal measurements between neuromusculoskeletal function and gross motor capacity in children and youth with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Design: A prospective cohort study SETTING: Rehabilitation departments of university medical centers and rehabilitations centers in The Netherlands PARTICIPANTS: 148 chil...

Objective: This study investigated the hamstring-and-lower-back flexibility (HLBF) of male adult amateur soccer players, using the sit-and-reach test (SRT), with a view to obtaining population-based reference values and to determining whether SRT scores are associated with player characteristics. Design: Cross-sectional cohort study. Setting:...

Objective: To describe absenteeism and health care utilization (HCU) within 6 weeks after occurrence of running-related injuries (RRIs) among novice runners and to explore differences relating to injury and personal characteristics. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Primary care. Participants: One thousand six hundred ninety-six nov...

Objectives: To investigate the economic burden of running-related injuries (RRI) occurred during the 6-week 'Start-to-Run' program of the Dutch Athletics Federation in 2013. Design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: This was a monetary cost analysis using the data prospectively gathered alongside the RRI registration in the NLstart2run study....

Running is a popular form of physical activity, despite of the high incidence of running-related injuries (RRIs). Because of methodological issues, the etiology of RRIs remains unclear. Therefore, the purposes of the study were to assess the incidence of RRIs and to identify risk factors for RRIs in a large group of novice runners. In total, 1696 r...

The aim of this study was to examine which child and family characteristics at the child's age of 2 years are determinants of development of self-care and mobility activities over a period of 2 years in young children with cerebral palsy (CP). Longitudinal data of 92 children, representing all levels of the Gross Motor Function Classification Syste...

To investigate the relationships between changes in motor capacity (can do, in standardized environment), in motor capability (can do, in daily environment), and in motor performance (does do, in daily environment) among children with cerebral palsy (CP). Prospective longitudinal study. After baseline measurements (at the age of 18 months, 30 month...

The aim of this study was to examine the development of arithmetic performance and its cognitive precursors in children with CP from 7 till 9 years of age. Previous research has shown that children with CP are generally delayed in arithmetic performance compared to their typically developing peers. In children with CP, the developmental trajectory...

Hamstring injuries are the most common muscle injuries in male amateur soccer. Eccentric strength of the hamstrings is recognized as an important modifiable risk factor, leading to the development of preventive exercises such as the Nordic Hamstring Exercise. This study aims to investigate the preventive effect of the Nordic Hamstring Exercise on t...

This study aimed to determine the developmental trajectories of social participation, by level of gross motor function and intellectual disability, in a Dutch population of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 1 to 24 years. As part of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Research in the Netherlands (PERRIN+), 424 individuals with CP (261 males, 163 f...

The aim of this study was to examine determinants of the course and level of social functioning and communication in school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP) over a 2-year period. A clinic-based sample of 5 and 7 years old children with CP (n=108; 72 males; mean age 6y 3mo, SD 12mo; Gross Motor Function Classification System (GFMCS) level I-V)...

Objectives: To describe the developmental trajectories of mobility performance and daily activities in children and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP). To explore the influence of gross motor function and intellectual disability on these trajectories. Methods: Four hundred and twenty-four Dutch participants with CP (aged 1-20 years at study o...

Running is associated with desirable lifestyle changes. Therefore several initiatives have been undertaken to promote running. Exact data on the health effects as a result of participating in a short-term running promotion program, however, is scarce. One important reason for dropout from a running program is a running-related injury (RRI). The inc...

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe patterns for gross motor development by level of severity in a Dutch population of individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: This longitudinal study included 423 individuals (260 males, 163 females) with CP. The mean age at baseline was 9 years 6 months (SD 6y 2mo, range 1-22y). The level of severit...

» Een centraal doel binnen de revalidatie is het optimaliseren van vaardigheden van patiënten. Leren en onderwijzen zijn essentiële elementen in dit verband, maar roepen belangrijke vragen op: wat weten behandelaars van leren en onderwijzen, wat doen ze ermee tijdens hun behandelingen en wat hebben ze nodig? In dit hoofdstuk worden deze vragen besp...

Children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) often show difficulties in arithmetic compared to their typically developing peers. The present study explores whether cognitive and motor variables are related to arithmetic performance of a large group of primary school children with CP. More specifically, the relative influence of non-verbal intelligen...

The purpose of this study was to examine professionals' perceptions on classifying learning styles in the context of teaching motor activities to children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). The participants were 21 pediatric physical therapists (PPTs) and seven physical educators (PEs) in three schools for special education in The Netherland...

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are at greater risk for a limited intellectual development than typically developing children. Little information is available which children with CP are most at risk. This study aimed to describe the development of non-verbal intellectual capacity of school-age children with CP and to examine the association betwe...

The purpose of this study was to describe the course of capabilities in self-care, mobility, and social function in school-age children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to investigate associations with CP-, child-, and family-characteristics. A clinic-based sample of children with CP (n = 116; 76 males, 40 females; mean age 6 y 3 mo, SD 12 mo) was foll...

The purpose of this study was to examine the inter-rater reliability of two tests measuring selective motor control (SMC) of the lower extremities in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Two testers independently assessed 21 children (13 boys, eight girls; mean age 6 years 5 months, SD 12 months) with spastic CP (14 unilateral and seven bilateral) us...

A major focus of rehabilitation is that of optimizing patients' activities. Learning and teaching are key elements in this respect, but raise important questions: what do rehabilitation professionals know with respect to learning and teaching, what do they do, and what do they need? This paper discusses the issue of learning and teaching in rehabil...

The aim of this study was to describe the physical activity levels of 5- and 7-year-old children with cerebral palsy (CP, n = 97), to compare their physical activity levels with those of typically developing peers (TD, n = 57) and the Dutch recommendation for physical activity, and to investigate the associated factors. The level of physical activi...

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between gross motor capacity and daily-life mobility in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to explore the moderation of this relationship by the severity of CP. Cross-sectional analysis in a cohort study with a clinic-based sample of children with CP (n=116; 76 males, 40 females; mean age 6 y...