Spinal Movement Biomechanics
Diseases of the spine are common and the causes are often not fully understood. Our research contributes to a better understanding of spinal disorders. We evaluate existing and new treatment approaches and can thus derive recommendations for physiotherapy practice.
Diseases of the spine are common, and the causes are often not fully understood. Our research helps us better understand spinal diseases. We assess existing and new treatment approaches and derive recommendations for the physiotherapeutic practice.
We use the Bern Movement Lab infrastructure for our research.
Other employees
- Florin Schneeberger (MSc-Student, BFH)
- Dounia Hassar (MSc-Studentin, BFH / Universtität Bern)
- Loïc Anderes (MSc-Student, BFH / Universität Bern)
- Timas Peteraitis (MSc-Student, BFH)
- Jessica Stahl (BSc-Studentin, BFH)
- Jana Flückiger (BSc-Studentin, BFH)
Come join our team
For master's theses
Please contact Professor Stefan Schmid to learn about current opportunities for participation in the framework of a master’s thesis.
Current master theses proposals:
- Automated daily living activities classification from IMU data in adolescents using a deep learning model
- Validation of a machine learning-based algorithm for the automated recognition of daily living activities from IMU measurements in school children
- Implementing bidirectional coupling in a combined MSK-FE modeling approach for assessing spinal loading in scoliosis patients
- Enhancing a musculoskeletal full-body model with a thoracolumbar fascia to improve spinal loading simulations in scoliosis patients
For PhD theses
We currently do not have any open doctoral positions.
Projects
No results match your request.
Completed projects
- Effects of a short educational video on back beliefs and object lifting behavior in the general population.
PI’s: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD; Guillaume Christe, PT, PhD
Sponsor: Unfunded - Quantifying full-body lifting strategies using a newly developed lifting index derived from regular video recordings: A comparative evaluation and reliability analysis.
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: Unfunded - Computational modeling of the spine in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
PI’s: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD and Philippe Büchler, PhD
Sponsor: Unfunded - Measuring 3D lumbar spine motion during functional activities using textile sensors: A comparative evaluation and reliability analysis.
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: Unfunded - Assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of regular training in the ExerCube – A pilot feasibility study.
PI: Claudio Nigg, PhD
Involved member(s) of Spinal Movement Biomechanics Group: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD (Co-Investigator)
Sponsor: Unfunded - Neuromechanical Analysis of selected Corrective Exercise Therapy Approaches in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (ExercAIS).
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: Unfunded - Patient-specific Musculoskeletal Spine Modeling: Implementing Medical Imaging-based Muscle Morphology using an Automated Deep Learning Approach.
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: BFH CfP (Grant-no.: 2157PT_G) - Lumbar vertebral loading and paraspinal muscle activity during object lifting in healthy pain-free adults: an exploratory cross-sectional pilot study.
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: Unfunded - Low back pain: Unveiling the contribution of motor control adaption using biomechanical modeling and neuroimaging. Link
PI: Michael L. Meier, PhD (Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland)
Involved member(s) of Spinal Movement Biomechanics Group: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD (Project partner)
Sponsor: Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant-no.: 185123) - Spine Biomechanics during Functional Activities in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pilot Feasibility Study.
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: Swiss Physiotherapy Association (physioswiss) - Novel musculoskeletal models to assess spine segmental loads in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.
PI: Dennis E. Anderson, PhD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA)
Involved member(s) of Spinal Movement Biomechanics Group: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD (Co-investigator)
Sponsor: National Center of Simulation and Rehabilitation Research (Sub-award of NIH grant no.: 5P2CHD065690 - Using subject-specific musculoskeletal spine models to predict segmental loading and individual muscle forces during functional activities in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant-no.: 178427) - The Measurement of Spine Dynamics during Gait for the Quantification of Intervention Outcomes in Patients with different Pathologies.
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: Swiss Physiotherapy Association (physioswiss)
Partnerships
National partnerships
- Integrative Spinal Research Group, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland (Michael L. Meier, PhD)
- Computational Bioengineering Group, ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland (Philippe Büchler, PhD)
- Orthopedic Department, University Children’s Hospital Basel (UKBB), Basel, Switzerland (Carol-Claudius Hasler, MD)
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), Bern, Switzerland (Moritz Deml, MD)
- BFH Computer Perception and Virtual Reality Lab (cpvrLab), Biel, Switzerland (Marcus Hudritsch)
- Department of Diagnostic, Interventional and Pediatric Radiology, Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), Bern, Switzerland (Jasmin Busch, MD)
- Physiotherapie Schori, Bern, Switzerland (Maria Schori, PT)
- Department of Physiotherapy, HESAV School of Health Sciences, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland (Guillaume Christe, PT, PhD)
International partnerships
- Bouxsein Lab, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA (Dennis E. Anderson, PhD and Mary Bouxsein, PhD)
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, Canada (Carl-Eric Aubin, PhD)
- Institute for Orthopaedic Research and Training, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (Lennart Scheys, PhD)
In the media
The media repeatedly pick up on our research work and refer to it. You can see a selection of articles here:
- 3sat, German public television station, 8. Februar, 2023: Nano «Richtig heben»
- SRF, Swiss radio and television, 16. Mai, 2022: Puls, «Rückenschmerzen – Oft sind es die Muskeln»
- SRF, Swiss radio and television, 16. Mai, 2022: 10vor10 «Studie: CTs, MRIs und Medikamente verursachen unnötig hohe Kosten»
- «PhysioBib» YouTube, 18. August, 2022: «Kritik an Strg_F Krafttrainings-Doku»
- Hauptstadt – Neuer Berner Journalismus, 5. Mai, 2022: «Mythos gerader Rücken?»
Software and databases
- Personalizable full-body models with a detailed thoracolumbar spine (freely available OpenSim models and MATLAB code for download on SimTK)
- Full-body models with detailed thoracolumbar spine for children and adolescents (freely available for download on the project hosting platform SimTK)
- Spinal kinematics during gait in healthy individuals across different age groups (C3D-files freely available for download)
Publications
No publication found.
