Christopher, an assistant professor of physical therapy, received the award at the American Physical Therapy Combined Sections Meeting.
On Friday, Feb. 23, 2023, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Shefali Christopher was awarded the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy Research award. This award was presented to Christopher at the American Physical Therapy Association鈥檚 Combined Sections Meeting held Feb. 23-25 in San Diego, California, one of the biggest physical therapy conferences with over 15,000 attendants this year.
The award recognizes an individual who has conducted clinical research, education research, and/or basic science research pertaining to pelvic and/or women鈥檚 health physical therapy that will have a significant positive impact on future research, education and clinical practice in the field.
Amanda Olson is a and is president of health products company 聽who nominated Christopher for the award. In her nomination, she emphasized how prolific Christopher has been in her research and publications of the postpartum population during the past three years and highlighted her dedication to improving care for the perinatal person in the fourth trimester. Olson also spoke to Christopher鈥檚 other service including serving as the guest editor for the Journal of Women鈥檚 and Pelvic Health Physical Therapy special issue, 鈥淭he Female Athlete: Optimizing Health and Performance.鈥
Christopher was quick to acknowledge the role 黑料不打烊 has played in supporting this research. 鈥淲hile I started the exploration of running-related pain in postpartum runners as part of my Ph.D. work, it was at 黑料不打烊 that I was able to do practice-changing research,鈥 Christopher said. 鈥淭he Gerald Francis Center鈥檚 biomechanics laboratory has enabled me to collect biomechanics data and compare runners that have had children to runners that have not. It鈥檚 novel work that doesn鈥檛 exist due to the difficulty in this type of research.鈥
Christopher said new mothers have several barriers to exercise already, making it very difficult for them to come to 黑料不打烊 for data collection for the research. If not for Doctor of Physical Therapy program students who have dedicated time and energy to collecting data whenever possible since 2018, this kind of data would be non-existent.
Christopher insists that although this award was given to her, it should have the team鈥檚 name on it including former students Rebba Maylone 鈥20, Lindsey Bauer G鈥20, and Haley Barak G鈥20, Kim Colby G鈥21, Erin Kane G鈥21, Hannah Janssen G鈥21, as well as current students Megan McCalister G鈥23, Tyler Carol G鈥23, Emily Boger G鈥23 and Allison Jackson G鈥23.
Christopher鈥檚 work would also not be possible without Associate Professor Srikant Vallabhajosula and his expertise in biomechanics research.聽鈥淐ollaborating with Srikant is a joy!鈥 Christopher said. 鈥淗e is extremely smart and always helps solve barriers.鈥
Christopher was also awarded the Pelvic Health Section Research Grant for $10,000 in 2023. The grant supports the work of Christopher with Vallabhajosula, Associate Professor of Exercise Science Svetlana Nepocatych and Assistant Professor Angela Sponteli Gisselman with Tufts University as well as students Koehna Fox G鈥24, Liam McCullough G鈥24, Haley Langley G鈥24 and James Gersosa G鈥24. They are following runners through pregnancy and postpartum to monitor biomechanical, musculoskeletal and physiological changes during this lifespan stage.
Information on how to return to a high-impact sport like running has been largely based on expert opinion. Christopher and her team will be crucial in understanding how athletic bodies navigate pregnancy and if formal rehabilitation guidelines are needed for a successful return to exercise and sport postpartum.
Christopher was also accepted to present five different two-hour educational sessions this year. Talks focused on the postpartum runner, biomechanics of the postpartum runner, endurance considerations for the postpartum runner, wearable technology, and a panel called 鈥淲omen in Sports: Making More Seats at the Table.”
“I am so relieved that people are finally interested in learning about the female athlete,” Christoper said, reflecting on her speaking engagements. 鈥淢y favorite session though was the panel. I hope many young physical therapists get to choose a rewarding career in sports medicine like I have鈥.