The Infinity Walk method makes a great research project for students working on a health care degree. Dr. Sunbeck gets many emails and phone calls from health care students looking for research ideas or asking questions about research design. To help you design a good Infinity Walk clinical study she has written a paper on how to create successful Infinity Walk research that can contribute to your professional field of study.

Designing research on a method that crosses many professional fields, and is integrative of the whole person, requires a well-considered research design. “Infinity Walk” means many things to different professionals and to different Infinity Walkers. Therefore, it is never Infinity Walk in general that is researched, but one or more particular variables that are aspects of Infinity Walk that must be held constant throughout the study.

For Instance:

Physical therapists might focus on improvement in balance.

Occupational therapists might wish to measure a sensory integration variable.

Developmental optometrists might wish to focus more closely on oculomotor control.

Podiatrists and physical therapists might wish to measure improved ankle flexibility.

Speech therapists might wish to show motor speech and expressive language gains.

Psychotherapists might wish to demonstrate its value in working through a fear.

Special education specialists might wish to measure improved attention and motivation.

PE coaches might wish to measure improved coordination and reaction time.

It is not correct to think in terms of proving that “Infinity Walk” works or does not work, because Infinity Walk is an integrated progressed compilation of many functionally useful skills. You can, however, pick a skill that Infinity Walk builds and prove positive change in that skill. For instance, pick ankle flexibility, neck reflex, or eye tracking as a variable to measure before and after Infinity Walk training. The seasoned clinician who correctly understands the Infinity Walk method also automatically knows why and how Infinity Walk is useful for these three skills, and many others. That is because each isolated aspect of Infinity Walk that builds these separate skills has already been proven, both clinically and through years of research. For instance, eye tracking across the midline is already well researched. Infinity Walk puts together many well-researched methods into a naturally progressive and integrative context of daily life skills. Each separate skill-building method has already been proven. Infinity Walk adds value by integrating them into a naturally occurring movement that helps the person practice increasingly more complex life skills.

So, Why Research Infinity Walk? 

There are many good reasons. Here are a few: Some professionals expect proven research before they will consider a new method. Research can determine when Infinity Walk may be more clinically effective, cost-effective, and/or time-effective than treating isolated functions. Each profession needs to identify when and how to apply Infinity Walk to various circumstances, make modifications as needed, and identify contraindications.