The Movement Centre are committed to research in the area of movement control. We have strong links with the following universities:

Keele University

We support clinical placements for Physiotherapy students from Keele University every year.

Liverpool John Moores University

In September 2017, The Movement Centre opened a new chapter working in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University. The aim of the collaboration is to design a piece of equipment to be used in Targeted Training Therapy. We are working closely with a design team from the Department of Maritime and Mechanical Engineering led by Dr Ariyan Ashkanfar and advisor Dr Russell English who are supervising the engineering team and providing technical support for the partnership. Advisor to The Movement Centre, Gabor Barton (MD PhD), who is a Professor of Clinical Biomechanics at Liverpool John Moores University, is working closely with the design team and supporting the partnership.

We have also been working on the training and testing of Core Control using Virtual Reality games with Gabor. This research is being carried out at the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences.

Manchester Metropolitan University

In 2014 we began working in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University. The Movement Centre supported María B. Sánchez Puccini (MSc, PhD), formally PhD Student and now Research Associate, from Manchester Metropolitan University with her PhD project. The aim of this work was to create a quantitative outcome measure (giving precise numbers and angles) that can be used to assess trunk posture and movement in a regular physiotherapy clinic environment. At present, only subjective outcomes (physiotherapist opinion of posture) are available. The collaboration has the potential to benefit the many thousands of severely affected children worldwide who have cerebral palsy and difficulties with trunk posture and control. It is in line with The Movement Centre’s innovative approach to therapy and intervention for children with movement difficulties. María submitted her thesis and was awarded with her PhD in 2017. The Movement Centre is looking forward to working with María in the future and further exploring the impact of the collaboration.