gait courses

Dates for 2016

Just before the year closes I thought I’d give some notification of activities we’ll be hosting at Salford next year.

 CMAS

CMAS Annual Scientific Meeting

6th and 7th April 2017

Keynote speakers:

  • Thomas Dreher
  • Andrew Ries (by video link)
  • Nicola Fry

Workshop on consistency of clinical intepretation

Click here for more information
 gait-course-2017

 4th Salford Gait Course

14th to 16th June 2017

Clinical gait analysis – an impairment focussed approach

Click here for more information
msc-2017

 Masters Programme in Clinical Gait Analysis

Enrol now to start in October 2017 (enrol early to ensure time to set yourself up for work-based learning)

Entirely by part-time (over three years) work-based distance learning (no need to attend in person at all)

Click here for more information.

And here is really advanced warning of on an event for 2018!

 salford-2018

 3D Analysis of Human Movement Symposium

3rd – 6th July 2018

Lowrie Conference Centre, Salford.

Further details to be announced in early 2017.
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First master’s students complete studies

Our school Progression Board met on Wednesday and formally approved the award of degrees for the first cohort of students to complete our new masters in clinical movement analysis. I’m sure there is a strong sense of achievement and satisfaction among the students. They’ve worked hard for three years, all of them balancing the requirements of studying alongside their day jobs working in gait analysis services in widely different locations. ~It would be great to post a picture of them all working together but of course they’ve all been studying by distance learning from their own location and the whole group has only ever met in cyberspace (although individuals have visited each other or met at conferences) so instead I’ll insert an advert for anyone who might want to apply for next year!

enrol 2016

During the first two years they worked through a programme of learning exercises drawing them into deeper understanding of clinical gait analysis and this year they have focussed on a research project of their own devising. The five projects have been:

  • How does arm swing change during walking in children with unilateral CP when an orthosis successfully alters foot strike pattern?
  • Effect of rounded bottom profile shoes on foot clearance in children with stiff knee gait.
  • A comparison of knee adductor moments from the Plug-in Gait model and a 6 Degrees of freedom model at  self-selected and slow walking speeds.
  • A cross sectional exploratory study to evaluate the validity of the Salford foot model in chronic stroke survivors.
  • A comparison of the repeatability of two different foot models at self-selected speed in healthy adults.

As well as the obvious success of the students, there has also been a strong sense of achievement for me and the other teaching staff. The programme has grown out of the CMAster project sponsored by the EU Lifelong Learning Programme and in partnership with KU Leuven and VU Amsterdam. We spent two years planning the programme and then three years delivering it so this week really marks the completion of a five year project. We’re all very proud of what we’ve achieved and Adam Shortland, our external examiner, is equally enthusiastic.

There is still time to apply to enrol for this year programme (to start in late September). Further details including how to apply can be found at this link. There is more information, including some material to support those considering enrolling at this site. The application period will end on 31st July and it can take a little time to get yourself sorted so if you are interested now is the time to take action.

Virtual Open Day

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A brief note to publicise the Virtual Open Day for our Masters in Clinical Gait Analysis which we are holding on   Thursday 17th July at 7:00pm (UK time). This is obviously most relevant to potential students who might like to study with us but it will also be useful to  service managers who are thinking about this as a pathway for staff development. This is a three year part-time course delivered entirely by distance learning (it doesn’t require any travel to Salford at all). It is designed for staff from a technical or clinical background who are already employed within a gait analysis service and are enrolling with the support of their employer.

We’d also welcome any others who are just interested to know what a modern work-based distance learning masters programme is like.

The Open Day will be held over the Internet in a Collaborate® virtual classroom. I’ll  talk about aims of the programme, give an introduction to our virtual learning environment, Blackboard, and an overview of the learning activities that are set for students. After that you’ll have a chance to chat in small groups to a number of our other teaching staff.

To attend the Open Day please reply to our Admissions Tutor using this link. 

The course starts in late September 2014, for full course details please see our website  which also includes a link to our online application system.

If you want to talk to our Admissions Tutor about the programme and how it will benefit you please use this link to e-mail or phone on +44 (0)161 295 6536.

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Gait course starts today

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If the auto-publish feature within this blogging software is working then this post is being published at exactly the same time as our first major clinical gait analysis course starts. I’m really excited by this which is being run in collaboration with colleagues from the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry and the Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

The course is based on previous courses that I helped develop whilst I was working in Melbourne with Kerr Graham and teaches the approach that I’ve called Impairment Focussed Interpretation. We’ve got over 40 delegates from 10 countries in Europe and South America.

One of the things I’m particularly pleased with is the electronic manual we’ve developed. To have a look at this you can click on the link in the previous sentence and navigate through it using the links in the drop down menus at the top of the page (note that you can click on all the menu items not just those at the “end” level). Most lectures have a slideshow and accompanying notes. Some of the manual is password protected so you won’t be able to see  all the content. If you want to do that you’ll have to register for the next course. To  be kept informed about when that is likely to be then register an interest by sending an e-mail using this link.  The more interest we have the sooner we are likely to put on the next course.

Note that you, or any of our delegates, are able to leave comments at the foot of any of the pages.

Final reminder is that we are now taking applications for our Masters Programme in Clinical Gait Analysis by part-time work-based distance learning. The programme starts in September. Most potential students will benefit from doing some preparatory work in advance and the sooner you enrol the sooner we can start supporting you in this.