From the 4th– 6th May we saw the 15th consecutive version of this international conference take place at Staffordshire University, hosted by Professor Nachiappan Chockalingam.
Over the 3 days of Conference, talks and workshops were delivered by internationally recognised speakers, researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students including Professor Joe Hamill (Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Massachusetts, USA) Dr Jos Vanrenterghem (KU Leuven, Belgium), Professor Tom Shannon (Oxford Metrics, Oxford, UK) and Dr Scott Selbie (CMotion Inc., USA).
Conference started with the customary Staffordshire University Biomechanics Alumni meeting on Thursday, where the Clinical Biomechanics group at Staffordshire University showcased their latest advancements in foot and ankle assessments through their revolutionary use of Ultrasound and Elastography technology. This day also showcased latest developments in continous monitroing of plantar pressure by Novel gmBH, Germany.
The main conference started on Friday with Joe Hamill debunking popular myths around claims that the adoption of different ‘foot strikes’, increases the efficiency of runners, and decreases the risk of injury, whilst Jos Vanrenterghem’s session analysed whether our current evidence of knee injuries is fit for purpose and whether the current advancements in technology and methodology may mean we need to ‘press the reset button’.
Tom Shannon and Scott Selbie discussed the pros and cons of the use of 3D image and motion capture, whilst other presentations throughout the weekend explored the best headgear to avoid shock in rugby players, the capacity of a mobile phone app to assess the power generated from a bench press, and of course an answer to the eternal question of ‘what is a shinty swing?’.
For more information on next year’s Conference or Clinical Biomechanics at Staffordshire University contact Nachiappan Chockalingam: n.chockalingam@staffs.ac.uk
