Nordic Seating Symposium 2026

Pressure ulcer management requires looking beyond the wound to identify underlying causes across the entire 24-hour period. Interdisciplinary collaboration, shared decision-making and active patient involvement are essential for creating effective and sustainable solutions.

This session focuses on the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers (PU) and incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) from a holistic, round-the-clock perspective. Participants will learn about the impact of bowel and bladder disorders and incontinence on skin health, as well as the key differences between pressure ulcers and IAD. The presentation will also cover practical prevention and treatment strategies, highlighting the importance of education for both patients and healthcare professionals to support consistent, high-quality care across all settings.

This presentation explores how safe and appropriate transport solutions can be developed for individuals with complex seating and positioning needs, taking into account the individual, the vehicle, and assistive technology. Using the Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) Model as a theoretical framework, the presentation combines theory with practical experience from the Nav Vehicle Centre.

A particular focus will be placed on situations where a person is unable to travel in a seated position and requires a recumbent transport solution. The presentation covers assessment, identification of appropriate solutions, and collaboration between the different parties involved to ensure safe transportation in accordance with Norwegian requirements. Practical cases will illustrate different solutions used in vehicles.

This session is an interactive Q&A with Nav Mobility Vehicle Centre, this is your opportunity to ask questions about seating in cars and vehicle adaptations.

This session provides an overview of flap surgery for pressure ulcers, including the criteria patients must meet to qualify for surgical treatment and how the procedure is performed. Participants will learn about the structured five-week post-operative treatment programme used in Stockholm, designed to support recovery and optimize outcomes. The presentation will also share findings from three studies examining outcomes after flap surgery in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) between 2002 and 2019, offering valuable insights into long-term results and clinical practice.

Feel free to visit sessions in Track A or C, subject to availability.

The fundamentals and manifestations of spasticity, and its consequences for sitting, as well as how sitting can affect spasticity.

The aim of presentation is to present the clinical reasoning process working with a child with cerebral palsy and complex disabilities and to explain the choice of therapeutic strategies through analysis of an individual case study as well as forward looking planning focused on strategic positioning for active participation, environmental enrichment, and quality of life

This presentation will share findings from research exploring the perspectives of key stakeholders on using custom moulded seating (CMS), within their contexts; and the issues that matter to them. The reasons for using CMS; their expectations; the barriers and the challenges of accessing and using CMS will be discussed, as well as the findings from a systematic literature review exploring the efficacy of CMS for children and young people (CYP) on levels of activity performance, participation and quality of life.

Clinical experiences from an orthotist. How can orthoses affect the sitting function? A discussion on how it is possible to combine orthoses with modular seating systems and custom moulded seats. The importance of the patient's perspective and an interprofessional team. How do we set goals for the intervention? What is the treatment goal and the orthopaedic technical goal? Whose perspective applies to these goals? Several different aids may be needed for different functions and activities.

Key characteristics of neuromuscular disorders, with an emphasis on DMD and SMA, and how these disorders affect sitting.

In Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), muscle weakness and changing motor function affect posture, joint range, seating, standing, mobility, respiratory function and participation. Using examples from clinical practice, this session will discuss how physiotherapy and positioning across the day can anticipate secondary complications while supporting active function, independence and participation in a changing treatment landscape.

This session will outline the evidence supporting use of supported standing, stepping and power mobility devices with children with CP who are classified at GMFCS IV and V. Our parent partner will share her family’s lived-experience of implementing these assistive devices with her daughter, who is classified at GMFCS IV.

This workshop will present findings from research exploring the perspectives of key stakeholders regarding best practice in custom moulded seating (CMS) provision, followed by collaborative discussion on key areas requiring consensus. Participants will have the opportunity to shape future clinical guidance through anonymous voting and dialogue, to rank priority of initial recommendations and identify appropriate methods for achieving consensus.