Anatomist and Students Present Findings at National Conference
ANATOMIST AND STUDENTS FROM UK CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN RURAL HEALTH PRESENT RESEARCH FINDINGS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE
HAZARD, Ky. (Aug. 1) – Findings of research conducted by Dr. Charles Marshall and doctoral students at the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences Department of Physical Therapy were presented at the 31st Annual Meeting of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists in Orlando, FL, July 8-12.
Skeletal Body Measurements of the Upper Extremity as Related to Occupation was presented during the conference’s poster session by Dr. Marshall, an anatomist and member of the faculty at UK’s Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program located at the UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) in Hazard, Ky.
The study utilized data from the Forensic Data Bank at the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and focused on the potential for skeletal changes associated with handedness and occupation.
“Due to the extreme amount of available data, this project serves as a starting point for which specific findings can now be further examined,” said Dr. Marshall.
“It is widely assumed that bone remodels based upon various applied forces. This premise is stated in Wolff’s law of bone adaptation, which explains that bone remodels throughout life in response to its mechanical environment. We wanted to look at potential changes based on handedness and occupation to known skeletal groups. In theory, a right-handed person would use their right hand more than their left hand, forcing bone growth to be increased on the dominant side. Furthermore, we would expect these changes to be increased in occupations requiring extensive manual labor, rather than non-labor positions,” said Dr. Marshall.
“Findings could have implications in both the medical and anthropology fields,” said Dr. Marshall.
Jim Shaw, Dustin Menetrey and Dolby Watts, all doctorates of physical therapy who are recent graduates of the DPT program at the UK CERH in Hazard, had an active role in the research project and are co-authors on the poster with Dr. Marshall. Support was also provided by Elmer Whitler, research director at UK CERH.
“Research is an important part of our mission here at the Center and this study is an excellent example of a successful collaboration between students, faculty and staff,” said Dr. Fran Feltner, director of the UK CERH.
The UK CERH was established in 1990 to address health disparities in rural Kentucky, including a chronic shortage of health professionals and residents’ poor health status. The Center accomplishes this through health professions education, health policy research, health care service and community engagement. To learn more about UK CERH research projects or the Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program, visit www.kyruralhealth.org or call toll-free 855-859-2374.