Welcome to the Podiatry Arena forums

You are currently viewing our podiatry forum as a guest which gives you limited access to view all podiatry discussions and access our other features. By joining our free global community of Podiatrists and other interested foot health care professionals you will have access to post podiatry topics (answer and ask questions), communicate privately with other members, upload content, view attachments, receive a weekly email update of new discussions, access other special features. Registered users do not get displayed the advertisements in posted messages. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our global Podiatry community today!

  1. Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
Have you considered the Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camp Online, for taking it to the next level? See here for more.
Dismiss Notice
Have you liked us on Facebook to get our updates? Please do. Click here for our Facebook page.
Dismiss Notice
Do you get the weekly newsletter that Podiatry Arena sends out to update everybody? If not, click here to organise this.

Biomechanics study guiding / mentoring Email list

Discussion in 'Biomechanics, Sports and Foot orthoses' started by Robertisaacs, Aug 5, 2010.


  1. Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.
    I've cracked this off as its own thread.

    On the "why biomechanics is crucial to the profession" thread a few points came up around where new grads or people who have been out of the biomechanics loop can get guidance.

    There is no substitute for hands on experience with a willing mentor in my view. Find one. Adhere yourself to them and pester them to educate you.

    However, for those who are not so fortunate, or who want more, I posited another idea. Something I've been trying at work is a round robin Email list every week or few, with a biomechanics study topic, case study, literature review and suchlike, with some questions at the end. The idea being that it gives people a structure to their learning and picks up areas they might not otherwise have looked at. They can send their answers back and I might send round my ideas for how I would answer them. The other way, of course, is to put such things on as forum threads, however many people are apprehensive about putting their views "to test" when just starting out. Email is a more comfortable medium for many.

    To emphasize, this is not going to be the atom splitting, cutting edge stuff such as we enjoy on the forum. This is designed to be very basic, very informal and pretty straightforward with an emphasis on practical application. This is for the uninitiated.

    Just to give a rough idea of what I have in mind, and the level, here is the last one I sent around. There were pictures but I can't get those off my email on my home PC.

    And my Answers:-
    Couple of people have expressed an interest already (Kerrie and steve90) and Ian has already been kind enough to offer to help (which I would certainly take him up on, thanks mate:drinks).

    Is this something anyone else would be interested in? I reckon if half a dozen or so wanted to it would be worth the effort. Anyone else fancy this (or helping me out with it)?
     
  2. We could call it the Biomechanics And Scientific Training And Re-education Devotees list. Or maybe the Graduate Educational Elucidation of Kinetics list. (there HAS to be a acronym).
     
  3. twirly

    twirly Well-Known Member

    Hi Robert,

    Please may I be included in your wonderful new G.E.E.K programme.

    Many thanks,

    Perpetually puzzled of Doncaster.;)
     
  4. Kerrie

    Kerrie Active Member

    I've said it before and I'll say it again on this thread!
    Please please do this, it would be sooooooooo good.
    ......yes I am a nerd
     
  5. If you dont mind very poor spelling and grammer of a 12 year old I give you a hand, if you want .
     
  6. javier

    javier Senior Member

    Hi Robert,

    If you want to know about a different approach from the sunny Spain I will glad to help you.

    About your case:

    The material I choose for these cases are elastomer bicomponent polyurethanes. You mix two liquid polyurethanes to get a shock absorbing resin insole that it does not bottom out.

    For example:

    http://www.todoparasuspies.es/isopol.aspx
     
  7. G Flanagan

    G Flanagan Active Member

    count me in, i presume you need my email
     
  8. blinda

    blinda MVP

    Like it :cool:

    Sorry I didnt get a chance to give my tuppence worth on the last round robin....will try harder sir.

    Cheers,
    Bel
     
  9. JackieSmith

    JackieSmith Member

    I'm absolutely up for this as well! If only my biomech skills were as good as my 'pestering people about biomech' skills... :D
     
  10. Graham

    Graham RIP

  11. Isaacs, you know where I live.
     
  12. How gratifying!

    I might need a bit of clarification though! This will be really basic stuff so I'm assuming Simon, graham and mr flanagan are offering on the helping out side of things!

    Righto.
    Anyone offering help with setting cases/ topics email me with the subject "list help".

    Anyone wanting to be a part of the list, and to re-re iterate this is going to be reeeeally basic stuff, email with the subject "list member"

    My email is rissacs@nhs.net . Note the number of s's please, the person at risaacs Is losing her sense of humour about that.

    Late entries welcome. Let's make this a reality.
     
  13. Add my name to the list, Robert. You've got my email. As regards Kevin's post about the importance of biomechanics in podiatry - I wrote something similar over 10 years ago. When we get to the point where clinicians can confidentaly prescribe devices that not only improve local symptoms/pathology but prevent dysfunction/deformity arising in the first instance as well as optimising individual foot function, using a comprehensive evidence base, then we truly will see the potential of this profession. What do we need to get to this point? An academic base that is purely clinical in its outlook - having our undergrad program delivered by educators whose remit is governed by those with vested interests - i.e. the NHS - will never achieve the same as those institutions whose outlook is much wider. We could really do with two independent colleges of podiatric medicine and surgery in the UK - with an undergrad profile similar to the US. As long as they're not in the West Midlands!
     
  14. Mark, you are pretty specific there. Why two? When you say "purely clinical" what do you mean?
     
  15. Considering the UK demographics and what could be reasonably sustainable in terms of output and funding, two colleges platforming undergrad and post-grad education with a yearly intake of 200 students each, was considered an ideal academic base. Now I know you're going to ask "by whom" and I'll need to dig out some old boxes to give an accurate answer - but there was a consensus on council during my stint that this would be more feasible and desirable than the current platform.

    What I mean by "purely clinical" is free from external influence. One of the reasons I suspect that biomechanics is not "properly" taught at undergrad level is because the NHS don't see and don't wish to see this aspect of practise included in the curriculum. I remember discussing the value of podiatric biomechanics with a health minister - I think Stephen Ladyman - 10 years ago and his attitude was it was not a politically desirable objective. What benefits there were for patients - at the time we were discussing paediatric lower extremity screening - would not show results (if any) for three or four decades. Well beyond the lifespan of any government. Sad but true - what concerns politicians more is whether or not voters are satisfied with podiatric care -and for most that simply means getting their toenails cut. Everything else is secondary.

    I would just like to add here, that for me, Pod Arena is crucial to my practice and to my patients' good foot health. I've learnt more here during the last decade than at any other time in my career and the community and association with other colleagues worldwide is second to none. Long may that continue. :drinks
     
  16. Fair enough, I have often considered that larger centres of excellence might be the way forward. But since the funding is in the hands of the NHS... Surely "two"- (I'm guessing) large centres of excellence would be more cost effective than the number of small schools we have at present... but then you have to consider the agenda's of access to higher education etc. if you only had two schools people would have to show commitment by moving home to study etc.
     
  17. We're singing from the same hymn sheet. I would certainly prefer funding to be free from influence or favour - but try convincing those in the podiatry establishment of the (quite obvious) benefits and you come up against an immovable brick wall! Let me turn the question around - given a blank piece of paper, how would you design an academic program for podiatry in the UK?
     
  18. Been there, done that. Although it was within the constraints of funding and governmental policy at the time.
     
  19. Just building the list. Mark, I need you to email you again cos NHS mail blipped on me a while back and I lost everything. G Flanagan, I never had one for you.

    It may warm the cockles of Kevins heart to know that I've had 11 Requests. So far. Today.

    Thanks to Mike, Javier, Simon, and Ian also for offering their help! There are people who want education and people who want to educate. Magic!

    Lets hope we can keep this accessible and fun!:drinks I'll give it a few days for the list to populate then we'll get the first one out!
     
  20. Then it wasn't a blank piece of paper. That said, if you did, I'm sure it would have consensus with the overwhelming number of clinicians in the UK. Did someone mention the "vision thing" in recent days....?
     
  21. No, it had consensus with the Society's standards and HPC standards because those were the hoops the students and the course had to jump through. When I first took it to validation, I was told it was too literal in it's translation of the standards, my response was: when you come to assess it and our students, what are the standards you are judging it and them against? If you reduce learning to a series of outcome measures, the curriculum becomes a means to demonstrate those outcome measures, nothing more, nothing less. If the outcome measures are flawed, so too becomes the curriculum. And that's as deep as I like to get on a Thursday night with a bottle of cheap cider and a tin of Hamlet.
     
  22. RobinP

    RobinP Well-Known Member

  23. Me too.
     
  24. Absolutely. And if we were to examine why podiatry is practised at the level it is today and look at its deficiencies, I would come back time and time again to the above statement. Period. Enjoy the ci, wee man.
     
  25. I'm a lot of things, wee is not one of them.
     
  26. It's all relative. I'll demonstrate that when we eventually meet up! All the best...:empathy:
     
  27. Oh, you mean "wee" as in the Scotch sense as oppose to urine? All I can say is that you wouldn't like it up your arse, Mark (I think). Have I over stepped the mark, Mark? I guess it depends on your sexual "enjoyments" as much as it does your perceived level of decency on a chat forum. Cheers, big boy.

    Only Joking- for anyone without a sense of humour.
     
  28. Not at all, Sweetpea. Nemo me impune lacessit, as they say north of Gretna! But you would need to moderate your ci intake first, methinks......
     

  29. No one would harm me unpunished either, Mark. Yet, I feel we really are delving into specialist markets now. I only drink cider in the South West, when I travel North of the border, I like to fit in with locals and drink Buckfast tonic, which strangely is brewed just up the road from me, but is only drunk in Scotchland. Weird.

    P.S. if you are as big as you boast, I'd probably have to take muscle relaxants with the cider or just a bottle of Bucky straight

    Anyway, back to biomechanics education...
     
  30. Buckfast???? Jeez man, remind me never to entwine tongues - you sound more like my first wife every day! I suppose you could always slip into a batman leotard, but I'll leave that particular perversion to Robeer - it's his specialism..... so I'm reliably informed.
    Doesn't that defeat the purpose?
     
  31. So I am off the calendar list or is it just me?
     
  32. Nae lad. You'd have to try much harder than that!
     
  33. Good, 'cause me and my patients have loved this years. Currently enjoying Buttermere.
     
  34. Fabulous place - and a decent pint after a wee trip over Haystacks! One on me, chap....
     

    Attached Files:

  35. Felix

    Felix Member

    Thank you Robert. I am a student and think your advice and idea is great and will be watching closely. Bit hard to contribute at the moment due to heavy study load.

    Thank you for your care, time and education.
    F
     
  36. mcvine

    mcvine Member

    Hi Robert

    I have been doing biomechanics for some years now, but I must confess, even hough I do read a fair bit and do updates, I have never really had the advantage of a mentor, and having seen your articles in the Podiatry Now, I realised that I have a lot of gaps in my knowledge of biomechanics, so I would be interested in your e-mail tutorials.
     
  37. You'll need to shoot me an email (if you've not already done so).

    We're up to 18 on the list now, and 4 or 5 "mentors". I'm amazed at the level of interest! Well done everyone :drinks.
     
  38. Felix

    Felix Member

    Hello Robert. Do I need to shoot you an email to be on the list... or is my last reply enough?

    I am hoping I am included in the last count?

    Cheers
    F
     
  39. Dunno, I lost count of the list around the mid 30's!!

    I've just set the first one so if there is no BASTARD email in you inbox I don't have you yet.

    Anyone wishing to go on the list please email me on rissacs@nhs.net and I'll put you on as soon as I can.
     
  40. markjohconley

    markjohconley Well-Known Member

    Well said Mark
     
Loading...

Share This Page