Interprofessional research in the WesternU Gait and Orthotics Lab
A Western University of Health Sciences collaboration between the College of Podiatric Medicine and the College of Health Sciences is taking place in the WesternU Gait and Orthotics Lab.
The goal of the project, “Effect of orthoses on lower back pain in sedentary persons 18+: a Prospective Interventional Study,” is to determine if using orthoses for low back pain – even in sedentary persons who are not obese – improves back pain, and to determine the comfort level with use of custom-molded functional foot orthoses or quality over-the-counter orthoses.
The researchers include CPM faculty Mary Schuh-Clark (PI), DPM, Arnold Ross, DPM, Fanglong Dong, PhD, and Von Homer, PhD, AEP, BOCPD, who is also CHS faculty.
WesternU CPM students Brittany Casini , Kyle San Jose, and Amanda Thwaits make up one of the teams selected to win student research grant funding in spring 2024. They have recruited subjects from DPM and DPT classes- making this a multi-college study.
In addition to biomechanical examinations, the students are collecting data using the Zeno Walkway, a pressure measuring device that collects multiple data points of the footsteps of each subject, and training for mat use was provided by Dr. Harsha Deoghare and Dr. Michael Granado of the College of Health Sciences. The students are also collecting data with the Hx Strength Test cell phone app, the brainchild of Dr. Homer, which collects motion data via cell phone camera video and uses patent -pending computational neuroscience and biomechanics-based methods to evaluate neuromuscular function for each subject’s gait. The students look forward to completing data collection over the next two months and preparing their research for publication.
The researchers would like to thank the College of Health Sciences Department of Physical Therapy for allowing us to use their Zeno Walkway and its Protokinetics software, the College of Podiatric Medicine and WesternU Senior Vice President for Research and Biotechnology Andrea Giuffrida, PhD, MBA, and the WesternU Research Committee.
