Professor Maria Stokes joined the University of Southampton in 2004 and leads the Active Living Technologies Research Group in Health Sciences. Her research interest is in musculoskeletal health, specifically in exercise to maintain healthy joints and mobility.
Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration were what drew me to Southampton and are proving to be very rewarding
The research aims to optimise function and enable active living through multidisciplinary research into healthy ageing of the musculoskeletal system and physical management of musculoskeletal conditions.
Research Themes:
‘Warm-up exercises for movement quality in female footballers’
Paul Muckelt
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Dr M Warner
Funded by: Versus Arthritis and University of Southampton
‘Exercise Management for People with Hand Osteoarthritis’
Beatrice Sankah
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes and Prof J Adams
Funded by: Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, UK
‘Care in Orthopaedics, burdeN of treatmeNt and the Effect of Communication Technology: the CONNECT Project’
Anthony Gilbert
Supervisors: Dr J Jones, Prof C May and Prof M Stokes
Funded by: NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship
‘Hip and Lower Limb Movement Screen: Utilisation in patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis to identify the quality of movement control’
Umer Sheikh
Supervisors: Prof Stokes, Dr D Lambrick, Dr C Franks
‘Hip and Lower Limb Movement Screen: validity and reliability of observational assessment in comparison to 3D motion analysis’
David Wilson
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Dr M Warner and Prof C Cooper
Funded by: Arthritis Research UK
‘Exercise programmes for hip control to improve lower limb movement quality in young footballers: a proof of concept and feasibility trial’
Nadine Booysen
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Dr M Warner and Prof N Arden
Funded by: NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship
‘Estimates of loading rates on the lower limb joints using a wearable accelerometer during physical activity’
Susan Nazirizadeh
Supervisors: Dr A Forrester, Prof M Stokes and Prof N Arden
Funded by: Arthritis Research UK
‘Non-invasive indicators of musculoskeletal ageing'
Sandra Agyapong-Badu
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Dr D Samuel, Dr A Forrester
Funded by: Ghana Education Trust Fund;
and University of Southampton Health Sciences Studentship
‘Motion analysis of movement dysfunction in musculoskeletal disorders'
Martin Warner
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Dr P Chappell, Prof V Humphrey
Funded by: Vicon (Oxford) Ltd
‘Clinical utility of ultrasound imaging in the management of back pain'
Jackie L Whittaker
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Prof V Humphrey
Funded by: Ion Medical Solutions (USA)
‘The epidemiology and clinical importance of forefoot bursae in patients with rheumatoid arthritis'
Lindsey Hooper
Supervisors: Dr C Bowen, Dr C Edwards, Prof N Arden, Prof M Stokes
Funded by: National Institute for Health Research, Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship
‘Assessing the performance of knee arthroplasty using clinical testing, motion analysis, electromyography (EMG) and musculoskeletal modelling'
Peter Worsley
Supervisors Prof M Taylor, Prof D Barrett, Prof M Stokes
Funded by: DePuy Orthopaedics (Johnson & Johnson)
‘Coccydynia in Taiwanese women: a biomechanical and physiological study'
San-Pei Chen
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Dr P Chappell, Prof R Allen
‘Mechanics of patello-femoral joint dysfunction - usefulness of the Q-angle'
Fleur Kitsell
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Dr P Jackson, Dr D Samuel
Funded by: Private Physiotherapy Education Foundation (PPEF)
‘Dynamic evaluation of female pelvic floor muscle function using 2D ultrasound and image processing methods'
Ruth Lovegrove Jones
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Prof C Constantinou, Prof V Humphrey
‘The role of rehabilitative ultrasound imaging In the assessment of trapezius muscle dysfunction'
Cliona O'Sullivan (University College Dublin)
Supervisors: Prof M Stokes, Dr U McCarthy-Persson
Active Living and Rehabilitation
Research to measure abnormal movement accurately with a view to improving diagnosis and treatment.
The outcome of the project will determine whether Ultrasound imaging can enhance the assessment of individuals with lower back pain and provides a basis for further investigation of the potential impact of this tool on treatment effectiveness, and hence advance the standard of care for people with these problems.
This project aims to use the latest clinical testing, motion analysis, and musculoskeletal modelling to assess patients’ function in individuals with degenerative joint disease.
This project examined how accurate some clinical tests of shoulder movement were and how reliable they were on repeated testing.
This project aimed to develop suitable equipment and test methods for measuring arm and leg muscle strength and endurance in older people.
Measuring movement of the shoulder, particularly the scapula (shoulder blade), is difficult due to its gliding nature beneath the surface of the skin. This project aims to develop a suitable method to overcome these problems using a sophisticated system for analyzing movement of the body.
Development of a system of wearable sensors that gather information about the movement of athletes so that it is possible to optimize the athlete's technique in much the same way as an aircraft's shape is optimized.
We have developed a system of wearable sensors that gather information about the movement of athletes so that we can then simulate what their muscles are doing, their aerodynamic drag, etc. This will allow us to optimize the athlete's technique in much the same way as an aircraft's shape is optimized.
This study aims to investigate whether there are altered biomechanics, muscle activation and movement patterns in young footballers with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) that can cause hip and groin pain. More specifically, this study aims to establish appropriate functional tests from existing clinical tests, for examining kinematics and muscle activity, to determine the feasibility of test protocols for a larger study to examine mechanisms underlying movement dysfunction. This work forms the basis for studies to develop and evaluate exercise interventions to manage and prevent FAI.
Deputy Director of Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute (S3RI)
Head of Musculoskeletal Research Cluster, Health Sciences
Director (Academic) of Southampton Musculoskeletal Research Unit (MSKRU) -Southampton University Hospitals Trust / University of Southampton
Mentorship for Health Research Training Fellows Steering Group (Clinical Academic Training for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professions and Healthcare Scientist Programmes):
2012 - present www.healthresearchmentor.org.uk
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Research & Development Committee:
2010 - present www.csp.org.uk
Manual Therapy journal, International Advisory Board: 2009-present; www.manualtherapyjournal.com
Visiting Professor, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, University College Dublin, Ireland, June 2008-present www.ucd.ie/phpps
Allied Health Research Network (AHPRN) Core Executive Committee: 2005-present; www.csp.org.uk/ahprn
Clinical Rehabilitation Sub-Editor: 1994-present
Lecturing on undergraduate and postgraduate courses:
Ultrasound imaging of skeletal muscle: an introductory course for physiotherapists (continuing professional development course)
Maria has a background in physiotherapy and neuromuscular physiology. Her research career began two years after qualifying as a physiotherapist at the London Hospital, when she studied for her PhD in Neuromuscular Physiology in the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. Her post-doctoral years were spent as a Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine, University of Liverpool, and then as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy, University of Queensland, Australia. Her research focused on physiological mechanisms of muscle weakness and fatigue, and developing assessment tools, including ultrasound imaging to assess muscle size and behaviour, and mechanomyography to record muscle vibrations. She returned to the UK to become Director of Research and Development at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in London.
Maria’s current research into active living and healthy ageing of the musculoskeletal system spans the activity spectrum from elite sports through to frail older people. Her basic scientific research focuses on mechanisms of movement in health and disorders affecting the musculoskeletal system, including the biomechanics of movement (using motion analysis) and neuromuscular control of movement (using observational movement screening tools and measuring muscle electrical activity). This knowledge f mechanisms informs the development of exercise programmes to protect joints from abnormal loading and injuries that may lead to osteoarthritis.
Her research is based in the national Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis (www.sportsarthritisresearchuk.org) and embedded within two local multidisciplinary collaboration initiatives; the Southampton Musculoskeletal Research Unit (a joint venture funded by Southampton University Hospitals Trust and the University) and the University’s Institute for Life Sciences (www.southampton.ac.uk/ifls).
Co-Chair, European Space Agency ‘Post-mission Exercise (Rehab)’ Topical Team (‘Exercise after Space’) www.esa.int/ESA
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Research & Development Committee: 2010- present www.csp.org.uk
Manual Therapy journal, International Advisory Board: 2009-present; www.manualtherapyjournal.com
Clinical Rehabilitation Sub-Editor: 1994-present journals.sagepub.com/home/cre
Southampton Musculoskeletal Research Unit (MSKRU): Southampton University Hospitals Trust/University of Southampton (Director, Academic) – to enhance interdisciplinary collaborative research between clinical, applied and basic sciences
Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute (S3Ri) – fostering collaboration between Health Sciences & S3Ri to ensure high quality research for complex studies in health science (2009-present) www.southampton.ac.uk/s3ri
International collaboration on Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging (RUSI) - aiming to develop international guidelines for education, clinical practice and research (Whittaker et al., 2007; Journal of Orthopaedics & Sports Physical Therapy: Special Issue. 37(8): 435-449)
Arthritis Research Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis www.sportsarthritisresearchuk.org/seoa/index.aspx
Professor Kim Bennell, Director of Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, University of Melbourne, Australia
Dr Carolyn Emery, Associate Dean Research, Associate Professor and co-chair of International Olympic Committee Research Centre of Excellence in Injury Prevention in Sport, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Canada
Mr Mo Gimpel, Sports Medicine & Science Manager, Southampton Football Club, Southampton UK www.saintsfc.co.uk
Ms Sarah Mottram & Mr Mark Comerford, Directors, Movement Performance Solutions www.movementperformancesolutions.com
Professor James Selfe, Professor of Physiotherapy, School of Sport, Tourism and the Outdoors, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
Links with allied health and medical clinicians, including: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, rheumatology, epidemiology, primary care orthopaedic surgery
Movement Performance Solutions Ltd – collaborating with Sarah Mottram and Mark Comerford on movement control research
www.movementperformancesolutions.com
Myoton AS Estonia - supporting research on testing mechanical properties of muscle www.myoton.com
Southampton Football Club - Supporting research into prevention of osteoarthritis www.saintsfc.co.uk
Vicon Motion Systems Ltd – supporting research into movement analysis www.vicon.com
Ett Solutions (Italy) – supporting research into their motion analysis system for the upper limb www.ettsolutions.com
Honorary positions in academic institutions
Visiting Professor, University College Dublin, Ireland, June 2008-present www.ucd.ie/phpps
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) – Honorary Faculty Member – 2008 – present www.nihr.ac.uk
Sub-editor of Clinical Rehabilitation Journal journals.sagepub.com/home/cre
Room Number: 67/4019