Research Feature

From Practice to Research to Practice: Physiotherapy Alum Returned to Campus to Tackle ACL Re-Injury Risk

Dal alum, Chris Murphy works as an advanced health care physiotherapist in the private sector. His clinical interests target treatment of sport related injuries with a research focus on the biomechanical analysis of lower extremity joint dysfunction, specifically landing mechanics in post ACL injury patients.

Since graduating from the Dal Physiotherapy program in ‘07, Chris has practiced as a physiotherapist—in New Zealand, Scotland, locally in Nova Scotia and presently now in Prince Edward Island where he calls home. But something kept tugging at him.

“I had a growing curiosity regarding the global elevated re-injury rate that plagues this population,” he says, thinking back to long hours in clinic treating patients recovering from ACL reconstruction. “Despite individuals successfully clearing accepted rehab milestones supporting a return to activity, re-injury does occur. Are there adaptations that persist that current clinical evaluation does not adequately capture?”.

That simple question—what’s going on beneath the surface of recovery? —eventually led Chris back to the Dalhousie University.

Chris describes the School’s PT program as rigorous but deeply supportive. “It was such a solid foundation,” he says. “Coming back for my PhD felt like returning to a place that valued not just clinical skill, but also curiosity and integrity.”

Working under the mentorship of Dr. Derek Rutherford in the Joint Action Research (JAR) Lab, Chris launched into a research project focused on two major areas: 1) understanding how patients move after ACL surgery to potentially identify why some remain at risk, even when everything looks acceptable in clinical testing and 2) to understand current practice trends used to clear individuals for return to sport in those recovered from ACL injury.

Using state-of-the-art motion capture and electromyography (EMG), Chris studied how people land from jumps post-ACL reconstruction. What he found was eye-opening. “Even when muscle activation looked similar to healthy individuals, patients adopted a “stiffer” landing— a characteristic associated with increased chance of re-injury,” he explains. “Despite adhering to rehab and returning to sport, those post ACL recovery also had persistent thigh weakness, compared to healthy controls.”

With respect to the investigation of practice patterns, Chris reported that survey results within Canada were encouraging: most practitioners aligned closely with current evidence-based guidelines. Global variability in ACL recovery research, however, suggests there’s more work to be done. Chris’s findings solidified the complexity that involves return-to-sport decisions and how important it is to bridge research and clinical practice.

Now back in full-time practice, Chris is also dipping into teaching and continuing to publish doctoral work—chasing those unanswered questions and encouraging others to do the same.

When asked if he has advice to share with students interested about getting into research, Chris offers, “Stay curious. Start with a question you care about and follow the thread, it often leads to exciting developments, clarity and uncovers further areas of exploration."

Outside work, you’ll likely find Chris outdoors with his family, snowboarding, biking, or just lounging with their animals. A lifestyle that balances the rigour of work and movement research with the other essential things in life.