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As a component of Washington University School of Medicine, the Program in Physical Therapy is committed to the highest standards of research. Throughout all of our research we seek to expand the body of knowledge in the movement sciences, which is the foundation of physical therapy practice. Current investigation in basic and applied science include (but not limited to): the study of normal and abnormal movement; development of movement related diagnoses; effects of exercise intervention in special populations (e.g., frail/elderly, low back pain, obesity); factors affecting skin breakdown and healing in patients with diabetes mellitus; studies related to submaximally induced skeletal muscle fatigue; mechanical models explaining joint integrity; and individual differences explaining health promotion outcomes.
Major Research Facilities and Programs
Applied Kinesiology Laboratory (Director: Dave Sinacore)
The focus of the AKL laboratory is to study human movement and movement-related dysfunction induced as a result of chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, osteoarthritis) and physical frailty with aging. Exercise and physical activity training interventions are powerful mediators of human movement and movement-related dysfunction. Our studies utilize assessments of human movement and physical performance including disease-specific measures of impairment, functional limitation and disability that may be ameliorated by exercise interventions. The AKL supports several NIH-sponsored research grants that utilize exercise training and physical therapy interventions to prevent or remedy movement dysfunction associated with chronic diseases.
Health Promotion Research Laboratory (Director: Susan S. Deusinger)
Attitudinal and physical factors both influence the outcomes of health-related interventions. Studies in the Health Promotion Research Laboratory aim to clarify beliefs and behaviors needed for pursuit and long-term maintenance of physical activity and exercise regiments and to measure effects of group and individual interventions on strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance. Promoting health through movement intervention with obese subjectsis the primary emphasis.
Human Biodynamic Laboratory (Director: Bob Deusinger and Dequan Zou)
The overall focus of our resesarch is application of computational and geometric modeling of the knee joint and adjunct lower extremity musculoskeletal segments to investigation of biomechanical factors and mechanisms underlying knee joint surface kinematics and kinetics, lower extremity segment dynamics and interactions, and muscle activation patterns associated with impairment, functional limitation, and disability that affect mobility of individuals with acute and chronic knee conditions of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and osteoarthritic joint damage, respectively.
Applied Biomechanics Laboratory (Director: Michael Mueller)
The overall purpose of the Applied Biomechanics Laboratory is studying the biomechanical factors that contribute to injury and adaptation in patients with chronic disabilities. Current projects in the laboratory are aimed at understanding the mechanical factors contributing to the development, prevention, and alleviation of neuropathic ulcerations on the feet of patients with diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy.
Movement Science Laboratory (Joseph Klaesner)
The Movement Science Laboratory is a shared laboratory space for the Physical Therapy Program. The laboratory contains a video capture system, EMG equipment, and an isokinetic dynamometer to measure muscle strength. The lab is used for the education of professional and graduate students. Several faculty members also use this laboratory space for their individual research projects.
Musculoskeletal Analysis Laboratory (Director: Linda VanDillen)
The long-term goals of the research conducted in the Musculoskeletal Analysis Laboratory are to understand the nature of the movement-system factors that contribute to musculoskeletal pain conditions, to examine how these factors contribute to the development, persistence, and recurrence of these conditions, to determine the relationships of these movement-related fators to a person's level of disability and role functioning, and to formulate and test strategies for prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal pain conditions.
Posture & Movement Analysis Laboratory (Director: Barbara Norton)
The current focus of the research is on the identification of posture and movement characteristics that may be associated with back pain and dysfunction. A key aim of the research is to examine the utility of measurements obtained with laboratory instruments for characterizing differences between individuals with and those without back pain. The overall goal is to discover factors that may reduce the risk of incurring either an initial episode of back pain or a recurrence of back pain.
Nutrition and Exercise Physiology Program (Director: Susan B. Racette)
This clinical research program focuses on dietary and exercise interventions for health promotion and disease prevention, with a major focus on the prevention or management of overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk. Current areas of investigation include dietary plant sterols as a non-pharmacologic approach to alter cholesterol metabolism; worksite programs to improve employee health; calorie restriction as a potential means to delay aging and improve cardiovascular health; and a novel project to combine a garden marketplace, nutrition education, and cardiovascular disease risk assessment among urban residents.
Upper Extremity Sensorimotor Control Lab (PI: Catherine Lang)
We are interested in better understanding how the central nervous system learns and controls skilled, voluntary movements. The lab is equipped to study sensorimotor control in the upper extremity in healthy people and in people with central nervous system pathology. Current projects investigate how various somatosensory and motor impairments in the affected upper extremity post stroke contribute to the problem of reduced hand function. Other projects investigate how neural and biomechanical factors interact to allow humans to produce independent finger movements.
The Locomotor Control Laboratory (Director: Gammon M. Earhart)
The goal of our work is to better understand how the human nervous system controls locomotion and adapts locomotor patterns in response to environmental conditions. We use a rotating circular treadmill to study locomotor adaptation in healthy people and people with various neurological disorders including cerebellar damage and vestibular loss. Current projects in the laboratory focus on application of the circular treadmill to the rehabilitation of gait disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Translational Physiology Research Laboratory (Director: W. Todd Cade).
The focus of this wet laboratory is located in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research, Department of Medicine. The laboratory's goal is to utilize translational research techniques to address questions pertaining to mechanisms and nutritional/exercise/pharmaceutical treatments for metabolic and cardiovascular disease in such conditions as HIV-Lipodystrophy, Type 2 diabetes, the Metabolic Syndrome, Barth Syndrome and in normal and pathologic pregnancy. Translational research techniques include biological tissue (blood, muscle, fat, placenta) protein and mRNA quantification via ELISA, RT-PCR, and Western blotting and measurement of substrate (i.e. glucose, amino acid, fatty acid) metabolic rates via stable- and radio-isotope tracer methodology and mass spectrometry.
Examples of Laboratories Outside the Program available to MSP Students
Movement Disorders Center and The Imaging Research Center (Director: Joel Perlmutter). The focus of this lab is to study Parkinsons Disease and other movement disorders related to the central nervous system.
Thach Laboratory: (Director: W. Thomas Thach) The research in this laboratory is on the neural control of posture and movement. The emphasis is interested in: (1) the specific roles played by different parts of the central nervous system in health; (2) the specific disabilities caused by damage of these parts; and (3) the patterns of recovery of function following damage. |
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