Anita Hartmeier - Committee Chair
"It is a great honour as well as a big challenge to help shape an inspiring conference program within a team of many people with diverse backgrounds. To honour our history as MT/MSK-PT, to critically examine the present, to illuminate uncomfortable corners and to open doors for the future - we try to make all this possible with this diverse program.
Even though the challenges and realities might be different from one country to another and from various healthcare systems, ultimately it is always about offering optimal value to the population and the patients we serve through our profession.
With this in mind, I wish us all an inspiring, encouraging and forward-looking conference."
Guillaume Christe
"The IFOMPT conference 2024 in Basel is the major musculoskeletal and manual physical therapy conference. I was so happy when I learned that it would be held in Switzerland, as I had such a great time in Glasgow in 2016. It is a great opportunity to participate to the development of the programme of the conference, with a wonderful team of people involved. I really love the main theme of the conference - "Crossing bridges". The conference will aim to cross bridges between research, clinical practice, education, patients’ perspectives and society needs. The 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated in Basel, is also a great opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of musculoskeletal and manual physical therapy. We are working hard to make sure the conference in Basel will be a major event to learn and reflect on our roles as musculoskeletal and manual physiotherapists, with a diversity in topics, presenters, perspectives and sessions. It will be a key event that should not be missed!"
Markus Ernst
"The IFOMPT 2024 in Basel is the largest event for musculoskeletal physiotherapy since Glasgow 2016.
I can recall from the Glasgow congress huge sessions with Annina Schmid, Jeremey Lewis, a Swiss reception and travelling home to Switzerland by train. Sustainability is an issue, also in physiotherapy, but it goes beyond taking care for the environment. Therefore, I’m very much looking forward to David Nicholls, who is probably looking back at physiotherapy’s history and forward to its future. I am proud to be part of the programme committee and we hope seeing many physios from many countries, travelling sustainably!?"
Scientific committee
Joel Bialosky
Joel Bialosky, PT, PhD, FAAOMPT, OCS is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Dr. Bialosky worked for over 14 years clinically primarily in orthopedic and musculoskeletal physical therapy settings before leaving clinical practice to pursue his PhD and a career in academia. He is a board certified clinical specialist in Orthopedics and a fellow in the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists. He received a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Ithaca College in 1990 and a master’s degree in musculoskeletal physical therapy from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998. He graduated from the University of Florida with a PhD in Rehabilitation Science in 2008 with his research interests focused on the mechanisms of manual therapy in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. His current research program is focused on 1.) contextual mechanisms of manual therapy and 2.) neuroplastic changes in pain associated with musculoskeletal disorders and their response to common rehabilitation interventions.
Mindy Cairns
Chair of the IFOMPT Scientific Committee
Mindy has been actively involved with the International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (IFOMPT), a sub-group of World Physiotherapy for many years. She is Chair of the International Scientific Committee (ISC) for the 2024 IFOMPT Congress and was ISC Chair for the 2016 IFOMPT Congress. She was UK IFOMPT representative (2012-17). She has served on numerous Trial Steering Committees and is currently Chair of the ARTISAN Trial TSC.
Mindy is an experienced clinician, researcher and educator. She is Senior Research Fellow and Postgraduate Programme Lead MSc Advanced Physiotherapy in the School of Health and Social Work, University of Hertfordshire, UK. Her clinical and research expertise is in the management of musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditionals – specifically spinal pain. Her methodological expertise are quantitative methodologies; randomised clinical trials, trial interventions and evaluation, survey and questionnaire design and evaluation of current clinical practice. She is an experienced external examiner and successful research supervisor at both PhD and MSc.
She is a Fellow of the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (MACP) and continues to work clinically treating acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, specialising in spinal pain dysfunction, management of hypermobility and rehabilitation.
Jeremy Lewis
"IFOMPT is about sharing knowledge, learning, catching up with old friends, making new ones. It is a valuable meeting place for networking, sharing ideas, and sharing a beer. IFOMPT is great for career development, being inspired by patients, researchers, and clinicians. it is also a great opportunity to explore a new city and meet people from all over the world."
Hannu Luomajoki
"I am part of the scientific committee and I am looking forward to this congress being held first time in Switzerland. It is great to be part of a world wide community of colleagues."
Niama Saleh
Annina Schmid
"The IFOMPT Conference is an amazing opportunity to bring together clinicians, educators, patients and researchers to move the field of musculoskeletal and manual physical therapy forward. I love the buzz of these conferences, the exposure to new knowledge, controversial theories, and deep thinking. Importantly though, and particularly after the challenging last few years, I cannot wait to meet everyone in person again, rekindle old friendships and create many new ones. The IFOMPT conference is the ideal place to do this and I am therefore honoured to play a small part in its creation. Being Swiss, of course I am also excited to welcome the IFOMPT community to our beautiful home country."
Veronika Schoeb
"The IFOMPT Conference is a very important event for all musculoskeletal and manual physical therapists. I wish that we can build bridges and move the profession forward."
Esther Williamson
