This highly practical course will give you the skills and knowledge to diagnose and manage biomechanical deficits associated with lower limb injuries in runners.

The course explores ideal lower limb biomechanics, provide an overview of how common biomechanical faults link to injury in runners, and how to identify and address them in a clinical setting.

The evidence behind, and practical application of interventions including prefabricated foot orthoses prescription, taping, movement pattern retraining, exercise rehabilitation, and adjunctive manual therapy for common lower limb injuries are explored. 

The course is delivered by Dr Christian Barton and will be a mixture of lectures, discussions and practical workshops. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand how to complete a thorough biomechanical assessment of the runner, including screening muscle capacity, joint mobility and running technique
• Be confident in determining potentially key biomechanical contributions to injury persistence
• Understand the benefits, safety, how and when to change running biomechanics, including consideration to proximal and swing phase mechanics
• Be able to consider the influence of footwear and potential of barefoot or minimalist running to treat or cause injury
• Be able to confidently prescribe adequately loaded exercise programs at home or in the gym to help your runners with injury and performance
• Be able to have an evidence-based conversation with runners about the implications of running technique and exercise on performance
• Help runners at your clinic run pain free and improve their performance
• Be able to apply course principles and clinical reasoning your develop to non-running clinical presentations

Course Outline:

Day 1

0845 Registration

0900 Principles of biomechanics and running injury management, including introduction of the RISK framework. Lecture and discussion

0930 Running biomechanics and consideration to injury – kinetics, kinematics, neuromotor considerations. Lecture, video examples and discussion

1030 Break

1100 Efficiently screening the runner for muscle capacity and joint mobility – understanding influence of running mechanics. Practical

1230 Lunch

1330 Introduction to running retraining including theory, case examples and practical – understand benefits, safety, when and how to change running biomechanics (step rate, strike pattern, limb stiffness, pelvis, trunk, upper-limb, head, swing phase). Lecture, practical and discussion

1500 Break

1515 Running retraining case examples including consideration of barriers and facilitators – tying in running assessment and screening to make a plan

1630 Considerations related to footwear, barefoot running, and injury management. Lecture, video examples and discussion

1700 Close Day 1

Day 2

0900 Review of Day 1 content and ensuring efficiency in running injury screening and running assessment. Practical and discussion

0930 Exploring the link between kinematics, kinetics and neuromotor factors in running injuries and implications for retraining – a deeper understanding of the management of more complex cases. Lecture and discussion

1000 Exercise prescription principles for running injury and performance. Lecture and discussion

1030 Break

1100 Exercise prescription for the runner – trunk, hip, and knee. Practical, including clinical reasoning of when to use open and closed kinetic chain, and how to restore/optimise muscle power

1230 Lunch

1330 Exercise prescription for the runner – foot and ankle. Practical, including clinical reasoning of when to use open and closed kinetic chain, and how to restore/optimise muscle power

1400 Running technique and performance – consideration to strike pattern, proximal mechanics and other technique factors. Lecture and discussion

1430 Running retraining – thinking about injury and performance. Practical

1500 Break

1530 Case examples related to injury and performance – tying it all together. Videos and discussion

1600 Applying course principles, including RISK framework to other tasks/problems (e.g. ACL injury)

1630 Questions

1700 Close

Note:

• Each activity will consist of theoretical and practical components. 
• Please bring shorts to the course for practical sessions. 
• Refreshments including tea and coffee will be provided

Tutor:

Dr Christian Barton PhD, BPhysio (Hons), MCSP, MAPA

Christian qualified as a physiotherapist in 2005 in Australia, and completed his PhD relating to patellofemoral pain, lower limb biomechanics, and predictors of foot orthoses outcomes in 2010.

At various private practices and sports medicine centres in Australia and London he has continued to combine research with clinical practice, maintaining part time research roles including student supervision in the ‘Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine’ at Queen Mary University of London; as Research Director at Pure Sports Medicine in London, and as a Research Fellow in La Trobe University’s Musculoskeletal Research Centre. His current research interests include developing guidelines for running retraining interventions, lower limb biomechanics associated with various pathologies, and improving the translation of research to clinical practice. Clinically, Christian specialises in the management of knee and patellofemoral pain, and running related injuries.

Christian has many peer reviewed publications. He is also the lead author of the 'Clinical aspects of biomechanics and sporting injuries' Chapter in the most recent addition of Brukner and Khan's 'Clinical Sports Medicine'.

Here is a google scholar profile with list of his publications: http://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=HsUEfu4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra

Christian's blogs, which might be useful to read:

www.biomechanics.completesportscare.com.au

www.patellofemoral.completesportscare.com.au

The course venue

How to get there

Travel Information:

CANARY WHARF - DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY (DLR) Travel time: 1 min walk Distance: 0.05 km + fly of stairs

CANARY WHARF - JUBILEE LINE UNDERGROUND Travel time: 5 min walk Distance : 0.2 km

Pure Sports Medicine practice is above the Tesco supermarket in Canary Wharf

AIRPORTS:

City Airport: 8 km/ 5 miles away Travel: 15 min by car/taxi or 15 min via DLR DLR: take a DLR train towards Lewisham/ Canary Wharf, may need to change in Poplar.

Heathrow Airport: 36 km / 22 miles away Travel: 60 min by car/taxi or 1h 20 min via London Underground + DLR Underground: take Piccadilly Line to Holborn and change for Central Line from Holborn to Bank DLR: take any DLR train from Bank going in directions to Lewisham/Canary Wharf

Stansted Airport: 56 km / 35 miles away Travel: 53 min by car/taxi or 1h 20min via Stansted Express train + Underground + DLR or 1 h 40 min via Stanstead Airport Bus + DLR Stanstead Express Train: from airport to Liverpool Street Station + London Underground on Central Line ( 1 stop to Bank Station) or Circle line (2 stops to Tower Hill Station). DLR: from Bank or Tower Hill Station (both, 5 stops away to Canary Wharf). Take any DLR train going in directions to Lewisham or Canary Wharf. Bus from the Airport: National Express or Terravision to Stratford Station + direct DLR train from Stratford to Canary Wharf

Gatwick Airport: 81 km / 50 miles away Travel: 70 min by car/taxi or 1- 1.30 min by train + Underground + DLR Train: Gatwick Express from airport to Victoria Station (40 min) or National Railway train from airport to Victoria Station (45 - 60 min) or to London Bridge (50 min - 1.10min) Underground: from Victoria Station take Victoria line to Oxford Street and change for Central Line to Bank Station / from London Bridge take Jubilee Line directly to Canary Wharf DLR: from Bank take any DLR train going in directions to Lewisham/ Canary Wharf