Category Archives: Student experiences

Our latest report provides standardised terminology for “therapeutic footwear” and will improve treatment for children with walking difficulties across the globe

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Our recent paper has established recognised terms, definitions, design characteristics and prescription criteria for off-the-shelf stability footwear for the first time.

Numerous terms have been used in the literature concerning clinical footwear interventions, including orthopaedic shoes, rehabilitative boots, modified shoes, supportive shoes and special shoes. There is also no standardised set of agreed outcome measures, both physical and psychosocial, to ascertain the effectiveness of this footwear.

A group of multinational professionals, from clinicians to those involved in the footwear industry, were recruited to take part in an online survey and to provide further insights through a series of open-ended questions.

“Therapeutic footwear” was the agreed term to represent children’s footwear interventions, with grouping and subgrouping of therapeutic footwear being dependent on their intended clinical outcomes: accommodative, corrective or functional. Design characteristics of off-the-shelf footwear were also grouped under three themes: stability, ergonomics and aesthetics.

This is believed to have many benefits including:

  • A common understanding of therapeutic footwear terminology to facilitate communication between clinicians, researchers and manufacturers.
  • Research-informed evidence for selection of appropriate off-the-shelf stability therapeutic footwear based on identified design characteristics.
  • Research-informed evidence for dispensing off-the-shelf stability therapeutic footwear to patients.
  • Standardised outcome measures for clinical assessment of the effectiveness of off-the-shelf stability therapeutic footwear interventions.

This study has achieved an expert consensus where none previously existed, which is important from both a manufacturing and clinical perspective. This is a huge step forward which we hope will lead to quicker, more personalised and more effective treatment for children with mobility issues.

Read the full paper published in BMJ Open – Defining and grouping children’s therapeutic footwear and criteria for their prescription: an international expert Delphi consensus study

My experiences at Staffordshire University and #StaffsBiomech

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Christopher Aitkins

The decision of where to study for a master’s degree was a difficult one. There seemed to be an endless choice of institutions, with a multitude of differing delivery models. I was working as a podiatrist and an undergraduate lecturer, I had both teaching and clinical commitments which I couldn’t escape for long periods and the idea of a purely online course seemed tempting; however, deep down I knew that work and life pressures would likely mean my studies may take a back seat. The MSc Clinical Podiatric Biomechanics course seemed ideal, the teaching was blended taught sessions on a weekend, so my day job didn’t need to suffer and there was online support available. This was a bonus as I live in the North East of England and the idea of popping in for a quick tutorial wasn’t possible.

The course was delivered by excellent teaching staff, people who were not only passionate about the subjects they specialised in, but were the authors of the current literature which I had been reading to develop my own clinical practice. In all honesty I was a little star struck, when I met some of them. I was determined not ask a “stupid question”, however, every tutor made me feel at ease and provide a safe and supportive environment which meant there were no “stupid questions”. The discussions that formed were insightful and helpful, led by the tutor guiding us to through the subject. This learning experience is one I have never encountered before and is one I try to model within any teaching sessions I deliver.

The support continued throughout my time studying with Staffordshire University, all my tutors were on hand with a quick reply to an email or to arrange a time for a telephone call which, they managed to fit around my working schedule. This support never wavered even when I started my dissertation. I had excellent guidance from day one; I had opportunity to spend time discussing with my supervisor my research idea, developing my methodology and setting a realistic time frame. At my first meeting my wife was 6 months pregnant with our 1st child. My tutor helped me set a timetable and deadlines which were achievable. Without this I feel, I would have made this process almost impossible for myself and possibly not finished at all. Balancing the demands to complete a research project, write a thesis and live with a new born was challenging. But my tutor had an excellent skill to allow me the space to progress and work, but check in exactly when I needed a boost, some encouragement or just the opportunity to share where I was up to. I completed my project and received a good grade; I was so proud of my achievement through whole duration of my study and felt I had completed a well-rounded piece of research. I have to admit I was surprised when my tutor suggested that I should publish my research. I had never published in a scientific journal, “that’s the sort of thing experts do” I thought. However, as I reflected, I realised that my research was worthy of publication. I had no idea where to start, but my tutors came to my rescue again providing me with the same level of support I had before ( For people who are interested in reading our work, please follow this link).

I am so glad I chose to study with Staffordshire University and the teaching team on MSc Clinical Biomechanics course. I have not only gained a qualification, but published researched, developed a professional network that are always happy to share and discuss learning and most importantly I have developed as clinician. It has not only helped my practice and patients but the experience has allowed me to grow as a professional.

Branthwaite, H., Aitkins, C., Lindley, S. and Chockalingam, N., 2019. Surface Electromyography of the foot: a protocol for sensor placement. The Foot. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foot.2019.07.001

 

Congratulations – Nicky !

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Nicola Eddison, one of the senior orthotists in the UK who recently completed her Ph.D at the Centre for Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Technologies writes on her experience:

I have worked in the NHS as the clinical lead for orthotics at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, for over a decade. My passion is paediatric orthotics, primarily the provision of ankle foot orthoses – footwear combinations (AFO-FCs) for children with neurological conditions.

I chose to undertake a Ph.D to increase my understanding of the biomechanics involved in AFO prescriptions and to investigate the effects of AFO optimisation (commonly termed AFO tuning) in an attempt to improve clinical outcomes and better inform the wider clinical community.

My research focused on the effect of biomechanically optimised AFO-FCs on the gait of children with cerebral palsy.

This research is first of its kind, to offer data in a case series analysis format on AFO-FC tuning, providing individual data rather than group means. For a practising clinician this is very important as each patient is different. I hope others will follow this model. In addition, my work is also the first piece of research which looked at the effects of AFO-FC tuning on energy expenditure and patient perception.

The project provides quantitative data to support the importance of biomechanically optimising AFO-FCs and as such, it contributes to the improvement of AFO prescriptions for children with cerebral palsy.

I thoroughly enjoyed conducting this research and have applied my research knowledge to practice. I intend to continue working with Professor Chockalingam and Dr Healy to help tackle issues relating to Orthotics and Assistive Technology.

As Nachi says, “research is addictive” and I want to continue to work on clinically relevant research questions which will have a substantial impact on people’s lives.

Publications from Nicky’s work:

Eddison N and Chockalingam N (2012): The effect of tuning ankle foot orthoses-footwear combination on the gait parameters of children with cerebral palsy. Prosthet Orthot Int published online 24. July 2012. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364612450706

Eddison N and Chockalingam N (2014): Ankle foot orthosis- footwear combination tuning: An investigation into common clinical practice in the United Kingdom. Published online before print February 24, 2014 Prosthet Othot Int February 24, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364613516486

Eddison N and Chockalingam N (2014): Response: Turning of rigid ankle-foot orthoses is essential. Prosthet Orthot Int, first published on April 1, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364614525734

Eddison N, Mulholland M and Chockalingam N. Do research papers provide enough information on design and material used in Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFO) for children with cerebral palsy (CP)? : A systematic review. Journal of Children’s Orthopaedics, 2017; 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1302/1863-2548.11.160256

Eddison N, Healy A, Needham R and Chockalingam N. Shank – to – Vertical – Angle in AFOs: A comparison of static and dynamic assessment in a series of cases. Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics . JPO Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics · August 2017. doi: 10.1097/JPO.0000000000000141

Eddison N, Healy A, Needham R and Chockalingam N: Exploratory investigation into energy expenditure using tuned versus non-tuned ankle foot orthoses- footwear combinations in children with cerebral palsy. JPO Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics. 2018. In Press.

Life as a PhD student: An Indian Experience by Stylianos Fanourakis

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This is my very first blog and I would like to share a small part of my experience in India as a PhD student so far. I have observed a lot of similarities and obvious influences of western civilization on Indian lifestyle. It has been a month since I arrived in Tamil Nadu, which is located in the South of India. It is a unique place with its own distinctive language called Tamil in addition to the national language (Hindi). I have visited a few cities in Tamil Nadu and the major temples in those cities that are at least 2000 years old. It fascinates me to know that they remain intact even after the known history of wars, without any intention of the invaders to attack or destroy some of them. Those temples are also protected by UNESCO heritage committee and are indeed amazing.

India has a very interesting landscape, which is rich in flora and fauna. As an European, it is very interesting for me to see monkeys jumping around the place like stray animals. Personally, I have seen monkeys only in cages at the zoo but never at my doorstep like in here.

Indian food is tasty. However, it is difficult for me to adapt to a vegetarian lifestyle. Of course, there are options for non-vegetarians like me, but not so widely available in the place where I am staying.

I am currently at SASTRA university, where I have been invited to collaborate for several months during my PhD. I am impressed by the size of the campus, which is vivid with a lot of students. This may be due to the fact that I am used to divided campuses. In the UK and Greece, I have never seen a whole campus operating as a single entity. The campus is always alive and active with people working six days a week. Also, I found that unlike most countries, people in India including academic staff and students, work six days a week. However, I deem that human body requires more than just one day per week to rest and alleviate stress.

My project at SASTRA university is about developing an innovative device, like a fully automated weight-bearing ultrasound scanning machine. It is a complicated task and challenging to deal with , however, this fact makes it interesting. Absolutely, it will not be a common topic of research for a PhD program. I am working with two other PhD scholars from SASTRA university, Hari and Saru. Each one of us, have our own objective in order to achieve the ultimate goal, which is to construct a new fully automated weight-bearing ultrasound device.

My objective is to create a new approach to automated elastography by calculating a map of stiffness through the deformation of a stand-off material. The device will also include features such as automated segmentation of various types of tissues; independent of their mechanical properties or thickness. Finally, the ultrasound device will be able to identify if the sample tissue is healthy or pathologic by quantifying the homogeneity of textured features. Furthermore, the weight-bearing device is aimed to be implemented in everyday clinical practice. In summary, the project is expected to have beneficial outcomes and promising results.

From my experience, I can say that India has a lot of opportunities and prospects as a competitor to the global market. The cost of living in India is cheaper in comparison to many other countries; but, that does not mean the lack of quality. The current rate of renewals or updates in relation to the infrastructure and transportation are low. I would recommend that the public transportation services are improved and updated periodically. Also, eco-friendly vehicles with less air and noise pollution would be useful. Better waste management and recycling methods must be promoted. Additionally, implementing strategies that utilize the renewable energy sources like the solar panels, which takes advantage of the sunlight available throughout the year can be beneficial. Last but not the least, there is a need for investing more into health, safety and hygiene. If the above actions are taken, perhaps, India may soon be one of the upcoming powerful global players.