Research interests
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:
- Monitoring musculoskeletal health of astronauts using novel technologies to measure changes during 6-month missions on the International Space Station
- Developing and evaluating neuromuscular exercises for healthy joints
- Healthy ageing - maintenance of independence for as long as possible
- Investigating mechanisms of movement to increase understanding of normal musculoskeletal function, dysfunction and recovery (biomechanics of movement and physiology of motor control)
- Prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal conditions, such as back, hip, knee, shoulder and hand pain
- Exercise and osteoarthritis – prehabilitation programmes for prevention of injury and progression to osteoarthritis in elite and recreational sports
- Development and application of health technologies to aid research, clinical assessment and effectiveness of rehabilitation
- Assessing risk of muscle injury by non-invasive testing of mechanical properties using a novel hand-held device, the MyotonPRO. Projects include reliability and validity; basic science studies to increase understanding of the physiological relevance of muscle characteristics tested by the device; producing databases of values for different muscles in various healthy, elite sports and patient populations
- Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging (RUSI) in physiotherapy practice and research, as an assessment and biofeedback tool to aid re-education of muscle function. Studies include development of protocols for imaging different skeletal muscles; characterising muscle size and architecture in different healthy and pathological cohorts (e.g. low back pain); using RUSI as an outcome measure in clinical treatment trials.
Current PhDs
‘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
Completed MPhil
‘Remote sensing of activity in sport’
Lavinia Otescue
Supervisors: Dr A Forrester, Prof M Heller, Prof M Stokes
Funded by: Arthritis Research UK and Engineering & the Environment, University of Southampton
Completed PhDs
‘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
Research group
Active Living and Rehabilitation
Research project(s)
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.