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A recent School of Medicine graduate presented at national conference after collaborating with the biomechanics program and using the biomechanics lab.
What you need to know:
- Dr. Jaineet Chhabra, a graduate of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, presented research titled “Visual Perception Training for Basketball Affects Lower Extremity Motion and Loading” at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting.
- The research was done along with a biomechanics faculty member, Dr. Steven Leigh, in the College of Health Professions biomechanics lab while Chhabra was still a medical student.
- The biomechanics lab is open to both the College of Health Professions and Joan C. Edwards School of medicine when examining movement-based causes of potential injuries.
Go Deeper
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Dr. Jaineet Chhabra, who just graduated from the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, recently presented “Visual Perception Training for Basketball Affects Lower Extremity Motion and Loading” at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine annual meeting.
This unusual, collaborative research project investigated ways basketball players could improve their understanding of their body position and where they were on the court to modify their ankle, knee, and hip movements to be safer and more effective. Chhabra said it was a great opportunity to present at the conference.
“I love learning. Though you need to study hard in a traditional curriculum to form a critical mass, my humble opinion is that more fully immersing oneself in problem solving forces you to understand principles,” Chhabra said. “Experiencing my own career-ending injuries, witnessing teammates get hurt, and coaching children prompted me to think about how I could best serve people as a physician. It is possible that this research may contribute to techniques and devices that will prolong the careers of other athletes. It brings me joy that several institutions found our research exciting at AMSSM.”
Chhabra’s research was done in the biomechanics lab of the School of Kinesiology in the College of Health Professions while he was still a medical student. It is a collaboration opportunity not often used. Chhabra worked with motion capture and force plate technology perfected by Dr. Suzanne Konz and Dr. Steven Leigh. Chhabra said to be able to study athletes in a real-world setting using biomechanics technology with the help of Leigh was vitally important for his research.
“I could not have done this project without Steve,” Chhabra said. “We both share the viewpoint that medicine and technology have advanced tremendously in the last decade, but integration is lacking. I injured my left patellar tendon in 2012 only just after receiving initial interest from college basketball programs. Given susceptibility to future injuries given my rigid flat feet, my options regarding return to play were limited outside of multiple surgeries. This gifted me insight that enabled me to see value in meshing clinical science, technology, and true compassion in my pursuit of being a physician of the people. This collaboration influenced my top ranking of UNLV Family Medicine, as Las Vegas possesses a growing athletics and entertainment market that will allow me to form similar relationships in addition to preparing for a sports medicine fellowship. In the spirit of my favorite cinematic protagonist, Rocky, we just want to help people go the distance.”
The modern biomechanics lab allows students in both the College of Health Professions and Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine to examine the movement-based causes of potential injuries and the effects of training and rehabilitation. Leigh said the biomechanics department welcomes collaborations with other med school students for further research projects.
“It has been great working with Jai; we’ve been able to bridge the gap between theoretical mechanics and clinical practice and apply our expertise to try to prevent some sports injuries,” Leigh said.
For more information on the biomechanics program, visit www.marshall.edu/biomechanics/ and for the School of Medicine, visit https://jcesom.marshall.edu.