About the YCSF

The Yorkshire Children’s Spine Foundation has provided considerable funding for spinal research in the UK over the past ten years which has enabled the activity to grow from negligible in 1997 to a group of international standing and recognition in 2006 with over £1.5million pounds of grant income, six post doctoral research assistants and three PhD students. In particular YCSF has invested in:

• Assessment of Spinal deformity in scoliosis
• Investigation into how spinal fractures cause paralysis
• The psychological impact of progressive spinal deformity on teenagers
• Vertebroplasty – surgically rebuilding spinal fractures caused by brittle bone disease
• Making seating work – Improving posture and spinal shape in cerebral palsy patients

Over the years the Group of Research Fellows and PhD Students has:

• Published over 20 peer reviewed international conference or journal publications
• Was awarded the British Orthopaedic Research Society’s President’s Medal for the best presentation in a three year period.
• Received the John Moe Basic Science Award at the Scoliosis Research Society in the USA
• Been invited to present at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons as a 'best of society' representative
• Received the 'best presentation prize' at the 3rd Australasian Biomechanics Conference
• Provided clinical guidelines on the treatment of burst fractures that resulted from the work largely sponsored by the YCSF. Current Research includes investigating methods of fixing spinal fractures resulting from falls, traffic accidents and osteoporosis.