PhD Studentship - Assessment of Force Production Characteristics using Portable Force Assessment Technologies in Military Personnel with Knee Injuries

About the Project

The studentship is with University of Salford and The Academic Department of Military Rehabilitation

• Academic Supervisor: Professor Paul Comfort
• Academic Co-Supervisors: Dr Bramah & Dr Ripley
• Industrial Co-Supervisors: Dr Ladlow

Research question: Can portable force assessment technology be exploited by UK Defence to better inform rehabilitation practices after knee injuries?

The studentship is fully funded, including:

• Fees
• Stipend - £19,237 per year for three and a half years
• Funds for conference & travel

Application deadline: 21^st May 2025 

Interviews: 9^th & 11^th June 2025 at the UK Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall 

Candidates must be able to register by 15^th September 2025

Description: The partnership with UK Defence Rehabilitation is unique; pioneering innovative technological approaches to rehabilitation, providing instant feedback for clinicians and patients, and is a clinical model that it is hoped will form the basis of future UK Defence Rehabilitation Best Practice Guidelines.

Aims and Objectives: Precise measurement of force production is required to allow rehabilitation and physical training staff to accurately measure functional status and muscular adaptations. Normative strength reference values for service personnel are unavailable, but access to such data would provide important metrics (e.g., maximum force and rate of force development) to better understand the functional requirements of military personnel. 

Located at two Army garrison primary care rehabilitation facilities (PCRFs), the ‘STRONG Rehab’ ‘study will aim to integrate the ‘STRONG-Army’ data into UK Defence Rehabilitation practice. The primary aim of the study is to compare force plate informed knee injury rehabilitation versus ‘conventional’ rehabilitation practice, to permit re-focusing of rehabilitation priorities, expedite the rehabilitation process and reduce the incidence of injury reoccurrence.

The successful candidate will primarily collect data at PCRF Tidworth, Wiltshire, throughout the PhD, in addition to assisting with data collection at other military locations.

Essential - Candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy or sports rehabilitation (³2:1), a master’s degree in physiotherapy, sport science or related discipline and have experience in conducting empirical research.

Desirable – Rehabilitation experience with military or athletic populations. Experience in using force plates and strain gauges. Use of statistical analysis software packages.

Funding Eligibility: This studentship is only available to students with settled status in the UK, as classified by EPSRC eligibility. Please visit: www.ukri.org/councils/epsrc/career-and-skills-development/studentships/industrial-case

Enquiries: Contact Professor Comfort - p.comfort@salford.ac.uk

Applications (curriculum vitae, cover letter and 5-page proposal) should be sent to: Marie Watts m.watts@salford.ac.uk

The 5-page proposal (excluding reference list) should include an introduction, concise review of literature and an outline of the proposed studies. If you’re interested in either of the PhD’s (ankle and calf injuries or knee injuries), please apply for the one that interests you most but add a note in the cover letter that you would happily be considered for either.

Note: In addition to applying for this role the successful candidate will also be required to complete the University application process which applies to all students wishing to study at The University of Salford. How to apply can be found here:

www.salford.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/applying/applying-for-research

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