An interview with Jim Richards | June 2007
We talk to Professor Jim Richards who has worked for 10 years as a senior lecturer at University of Salford, and has taught Biomechanics to Prosthetists and Orthotists, Podiatrists, Physiotherapists and Sports Therapists.
Jim Richards was appointed Professor in Biomechanics in the Department of Allied Health Professions at the University of Central Lancashire in 2004. He has considerable experience in conducting clinical research. This includes much work on clinical application of biomechanics, the development of new assessment tools for chronic disease, conservative and surgical management of orthopaedic and neurological conditions, and development of evidence-based approaches for improving clinical management and rehabilitation.
The focus of Professor Richards’ work is to encourage inter-professional research and to develop direct parallels with research to the ‘real world’ of allied health work. Professor Richards is also a visiting Professor to the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the University of Perugia, and holds Honorary Research Fellowships at several hospitals. He has authored many research papers and has contributed to a number of textbooks, including Functional Biomechanics in Clinical and Research (1999), Tidy’s Physiotherapy (2003), and is currently writing a new textbook Biomechanics in Clinic and Research due for public release in November 2007.
HOW DOES YOUR CENTRE DIFFER FROM OTHER BIOMECHANICS DEPARTMENTS?
At the Allied Health Professions Research Unit, many of our current research projects involve the assessment of conservative treatment of patients, and reports on how successful the treatment is at improving both function and participation. A major strength of this theme is that it has an applied clinical perspective that is underpinned by the WHO (2001) International Classification of Function (ICF). This puts the individual patient at the centre of the research work. The treatments currently being investigated include Bracing in knee OA, treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome, improvements of the stability of the ankle joint* and the effectiveness of Cryotherapy.
The research unit boasts an impressive movement analysis laboratory and a wide range of equipment, which may be used to investigate the effectiveness of treatments in physical medicine.
The Movement Analysis Laboratory at UCLan is one of the top facilities of its type currently in use in Europe. The lab currently houses a ten-camera Qualisys movement analysis system, four AMTI force plates, eight channels Biopac electromyography, eight channels DelSys electromyography, electro goniometry and accelerometry.
The data processing suite on the 1st floor of the lab is equipped with a suite of twelve high specification PC’s. The PC’s both in the lab and processing suite are linked via an internal network that allows data to be transferred directly from the acquisition PC’s to the processing suite. This facility makes the lab ideal for researchers to collect, analyse, and securely back up data with any of the systems in the laboratory.
Thermal images may be quantified. The mean temperature of a specific area can be recorded, or a temperature distribution over a specific area. There are links between with the skin surface temperature and muscle function; however there are also clear links with the sympathetic nervous system. Thermal imaging is possible at UCLan through a Flir A40 camera, from which data can be analysed in standard and custom written software.
Examples of Current use of Thermal Imaging at UCLan
WHY IS CONSERVATIVE MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT AND TO WHOM?
Management of the musculoskeletal system in active individuals and individuals who are unsuitable for surgery is a challenge. Once traditional methods such as loss of weight, active exercises and analgesia have failed clinicians have to consider other ways of managing the patients’ problems. Many clinicians are now trying new non-surgical techniques for both pain relief and improvement in function that include bracing and Cryotherapy. However many methods of conservative management require further consideration in the research literature to investigate their effectiveness.
WHAT’S THE MOST INTERESTING ASPECT OF YOUR RESEARCH?
One of the most interesting but also the most challenging aspect of the work in the Allied Health Professions Research Unit is identifying which measures relate to which treatment, and making sure that the measures taken make clinical sense to the particular conservative management. This aspect of making sure the measures tie in with the functionality of the treatment is highlighted in a recent paper “The Biomechanics of Step Descent under Different Treatment Modalities used in Patellofemoral Pain”. Almost all research to date has focused on the sagittal plane (viewed from the side) however all treatments for Patellofemoral Pain focus on re-aligning or stabilising the Patella in the coronal plane (viewed from the front) or transverse plane (viewed from above). It is interesting to note that significant improvements were seen in the control of the knee in the coronal and transverse planes which relates directly back to the treatment, however no change was seen in the sagittal plane. These findings might shed new light on the use and analysis of the biomechanical results of earlier and future publications. Read study.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES FOR UNIVERSITIES TO LINK WITH MANUFACTURERS?
Clearly the main aspect of our work is research and research publications. However linking with manufacturers adds a different perspective. Such links allow research units to not only conduct work with current product lines which are available to clinicians but also allows a unique opportunity to feedback to manufacturers about the effectiveness and how the products may be further developed. This allows the research to directly influence design, which in turn will find its way to the patient and improvements in their function and performance. We have many relationships with industry including European Regional Development Funding to assist small businesses with both product research and product development.
‘Biomechanics in Clinical Research’ by Professor Jim Richards will be published in November 2007. If you would like to order a copy, it will be available online.
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