For many researchers, seeing a study published is a career milestone. For Dr. Brad Bechard, it was the culmination of a journey that began nearly 15 years ago.
Bechard, director of Great Falls College’s Physical Therapist Assistant program, recently celebrated the publication of a research study that traces its roots back to his doctoral work in physical therapy.
“It was kind of a second chance,” Bechard said. “I never thought it would ever be published.”
The study explores ground reaction forces, the pressure placed on the body during activities such as walking, jumping and running. Bechard became interested in the topic while completing his doctor of Physical Therapy degree through the University of Montana. Working with colleagues Brett Walker and Pete Leno, he helped investigate ways to bridge the large gap between walking and running during rehabilitation as they felt patients are often rushed straight from walking to running.
Bechard’s research focused on a series of plyometric exercises designed to gradually increase the forces experienced by the body, allowing patients to build strength and proper movement patterns before returning to higher-impact activities.
“We wanted to see if there was a better way to transition people to running rather than just pushing them directly into it,” Bechard said.
Conducting the study required specialized equipment, including force plates and instrumented treadmills capable of measuring the forces generated during movement. Those resources were made available through Dickinson State University’s kinesiology laboratory, where Leno provided both access to the facility and volunteer participants.
Although the research was completed years ago, Bechard’s first attempt to publish it was unsuccessful. Reviewers noted that the study’s participants were young, healthy athletes, making it difficult to generalize the findings to broader patient populations. While disappointed, Bechard viewed the experience as a learning opportunity.
“I was a new researcher and pretty naive,” he said. “Looking back, I understand why they had concerns.”
The project sat dormant for more than a decade while Bechard built his career at Great Falls College. Then, while pursuing a Ph.D. at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he revisited the work during a grant-writing course.
With encouragement from Dr. Corey Peacock, program director of exercise and sports science at Nova Southeastern, Bechard updated the statistical analysis, reframed the study as a pilot project and revised the manuscript to reflect what he had learned about research design and data analysis over the years.
The effort paid off.
The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice accepted the paper after several revisions, giving Bechard his first published research article.
The paper is titled: The Investigation of Ground Reaction Forces to Validate Progression of Plyometric Exercise: A Pilot Study.
The accomplishment carried extra significance because much of the final revision work occurred while Bechard was undergoing cancer treatment this summer.
“I remember sitting there hooked up to an IV, typing with one hand and trying to get the revisions submitted,” he said. “I was determined to finish it.”
Today, the research continues to influence both his teaching and clinical practice. Bechard incorporates the concepts into classroom discussions about gait training, rehabilitation and injury prevention. He also applies many of the same principles when working with athletes in outpatient therapy settings.
The experience reinforced one of the lessons he hopes to pass along to students: growth often comes from embracing challenges.
“I’m one of those people who likes to keep pushing myself,” Bechard said. “This wasn’t really about having a publication. It was about seeing if I could do it and improving myself along the way.”
Bechard began his Ph.D. program in 2023 and expects to complete his dissertation in 2028 and thus earn a second title as a doctor, with the first being recognition as a clinician and the second for his work as a researcher. His current research focuses on student loan debt and reimbursement issues facing physical therapists nationwide.
While new projects lie ahead, the publication remains particularly meaningful because of the long road it took to reach the finish line.
“Your first publication is always special,” Bechard said. “This one was just a long time coming.”
To read the full report, go to: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ijahsp/vol24/iss3/25/.