Spinal Movement Biomechanics Group

Using state-of-the-art motion capturing and musculoskeletal modeling approaches, we conduct biomechanical research aiming at a better understanding of spinal disorders and to evaluate existing and/or new treatment approaches.

People

Group head

Dr. Stefan Schmid

Stv. Leiter aF&E Physiotherapie
+41 31 848 37 96
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Adresse Berner Fachhochschule
Gesundheit
Stadtbachstrasse 64, 3012 Bern

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Members

Christian Bangerter, PT, MSc (PhD student)
Lucile Poux, PT, BSc (MSc student, BFH)
Martina Stadelmann, PT, BSc (MSc student, BFH)
Raphael Strähl, PT, BSc (MSc student, BFH)
Corinne Kehl, PT, BSc (MSc student, BFH)
Cedric Rauber, BSc (MSc student, Uni Bern)
Dominique Luescher, BSc (MSc student, Uni Bern)
Michael von Arx, PT, MSc (Research Assistant)
Sabrina Köchli, PhD (Scientific Intern)

Alumni

Mena Suter, PT, MSc
Jana Frangi, PT, MSc
Edwige Simonet, PT, MSc
Luzia Niggli, BSc Health Sciences and Technology (MSc student, ETHZ)
Valentin Deiss, PT, MSc
Laura Böhringer, PT, MSc
Melanie Liechti, PT, MSc

Opportunities

Master's thesis

For current master thesis opportunities, please contact the group head directly.

Ongoing collaborations

National

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 and Reinald Brunner, 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)

International

Bouxsein Lab, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA (Dennis E. Anderson, PhD and Mary Bouxsein, PhD)
Institute for Orthopaedic Research and Training, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (Lennart Scheys, PhD)

Projects

Current projects

Predicting low back pain incidence from lumbar spine motion and pain-related fear using supervised machine learning: a prospective observational cohort study (LBPredict).
PI: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD
Sponsor: BFH, physioswiss
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.
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)
Assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of regular training in the ExerCube - A pilot feasibility study.
PI: Claudio Nigg, PhD (University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland)
Involved member(s) of Spinal Movement Biomechanics Group: Stefan Schmid, PT, PhD (Co-Investigator)
Sponsor: Unfunded

Completed projects

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)

Publications

Selected journal publications

Preprints (not published in peer-reviewed journal yet)

Liechti M, von Arx M, Eichelberger P, Bangerter C, Meier ML, Schmid S. Spatial distribution of erector spinae activity is related to task-specific pain-related fear during a repetitive object lifting task. 2021. medRxiv:https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.01.21264413
Schmid S. The Stoop-Squat-Index: a simple but powerful measure for quantifying lifting behavior. 2021. arXiv:2108.05795v1 [physics.med-ph].
Schmid S, Connolly L, Moschini G, Meier ML, Senteler M. Skin marker-based subject-specific spinal alignment modeling: A feasibility study. 2021. arXiv:2101.12272v2 [physics.med-ph].

Software and Databases

Personalizable full-body models with a detailed thoracolumbar spine (freely available OpenSim models and MATLAB code for download on SimTK: https://simtk.org/projects/pers_fbm_spine)
Full-body models with detailed thoracolumbar spine for children and adolescents (freely available for download on the project hosting platform SimTK: https://simtk.org/projects/spine-children)
Spinal kinematics during gait in healthy individuals across different age groups (C3D-files freely available for download: https://movement.ethz.ch/data-repository/spinal-kinematics.html)