From May 21st to 23rd, members of the Peter Harrison Centre (PHC) attended the 7th RehabMove congress in Groningen, the Netherlands, to present their latest research. This event brought together researchers, clinicians, sport professionals, patient groups, sports unions, industry, and other partners to share knowledge and discuss future health challenges for people with disabilities.
The congress covered three themes: Mobility (Day one), Active Lifestyle (Day two) and Adaptive Sports (Day three), all aimed at supporting and improving rehabilitation medicine and encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle for better healthcare and rehabilitation practices.
On the opening day, Visiting Fellow Dr Fransiska Bossuyt delivered a keynote lecture titled ‘Optimizing shoulder health in wheelchair users: Biomechanical insights, fatigue, and tendon adaptations. Day two featured Dr Christof Leicht, who delivered an oral presentation of his research on local cooling during heat therapy. While Dr Adam Dickinson and Dr Tom O’Brien contributed poster presentations on their research in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby, respectively.
Day three was kicked off by Dr Tom Paulson with his keynote lecture titled “Para Sport performance: The interface between science and practice”. This was followed by oral presentations from Dr Tom O’Brien, PhD student Natasha Mehta, and Dr Thomas Rietveld, who presented research on wheelchair rugby, rehabilitation, and wheelchair tennis. PHC alumna Dr Lesley Sharpe also presented a poster on co-designing a resource for accessible dissemination of wheelchair basketball research, a research collaboration between Loughborough University and the University of Lincoln.
Reflecting on his keynote lecture, Dr Tom Paulson commented:
“The keynote was a great way to reflect upon the role that the Peter Harrison Centre and Loughborough University can play in supporting Para athletes and coaches in the UK high performance system. It also helped to make connections with others playing a similar translational role in countries”.
Later that day, Professor Vicky Tolfrey and Visiting Fellow Dr Riemer Vegter participated in a panel discussion on clinical innovation through partnership. The session included representatives from Lode, manufacturer of the Esseda wheelchair ergometer, a tool used in research conducted in the Peter Harrison Laboratory.
Dr Tom O’Brien emphasised the importance of attending the conference:
"Attending the 7th RehabMove congress in Groningen was an incredibly enriching experience. The congress offered a diverse and interconnected programme of topics—from active living to elite sports performance—highlighting the value of cross-disciplinary collaboration in rehabilitation science. It was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and friends from around the world, while also forging new relationships within the rehabilitation/para-sport community. Informal events like the European networking evening and the lively pub quiz sparked thought-provoking conversations and laid the groundwork for exciting future collaborations over a beer or three (strictly for networking purposes, of course!)”.
Overall, RehabMove provided a platform for PHC researchers to share their latest research, develop new and existing networks, and explore future research directions.