2026 BSPRM Annual Scientific Conference
Conference Days:
29-30 September 2026
Conference Location:
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Pre-Conference Workshops:
28 September 2026
Programme
Explore the conference programme, featuring a diverse range of sessions and expert speakers. You'll also find details of the pre-conference workshops, conference venues, gala dinner, and our valued sponsors.
Approved by the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom for 12 category 1 (external) CPD credit(s).
Speakers
Discover more about some of the outstanding speakers joining us in Edinburgh and the expertise they brought to the 2026 conference.
Conference Interviews
During BSPRM 2026, we recorded a series of interviews with UK, European and international colleagues exploring key developments in physical and rehabilitation medicine. Watch the full series to hear perspectives on research, education, clinical practice, professional collaboration and the future of PRM.
Conference Photos
Discover the professional photographs from BSPRM 2026, capturing highlights from thought-provoking sessions, lively networking, sponsor engagement, poster presentations and the conference awards ceremony.
Conference Abstracts
BSPRM 2026 showcased research, quality-improvement initiatives and service evaluations from across rehabilitation medicine. The highest-scoring submissions were selected for oral presentation, while other accepted abstracts were presented as posters during the conference.
The oral presentation abstracts are expected to be published in the SAGE journal Advances in Rehabilitation Science and Practice following the conference. A link to the published abstracts will be added when available.
See the conference programme for the full list of oral and poster abstract presentations.
BSPRM Best Oral Presentation Award
Winner: Gabriel Ind
Abstract title: Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Post-Stroke Ankle Plantarflexor Spasticity: A Sham-Controlled Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Highly Commended: Richard Cole
Abstract title: “It Really Doesn't Feel Like Myself”: Alterations in the Sense of Self in Autistic Adults After Traumatic Brain Injury
Best Quality Improvement / Service Evaluation Abstract
Winner: Carol Burchett, Dr Chatziagouris and Dr Nour Hanga
Abstract title: Development of an Interdisciplinary Teaching Model in Neurorehabilitation: Lessons Learnt
Best Poster Abstract Presentation
Winners: Dr Allan Cameron and Dr Anne-Marie O'Neill
Abstract title: Reducing Time to TWOC: A Quality Improvement Project in Acquired Brain Injury
Honorary Life Membership Award
Each year, BSPRM recognises individuals who have made exceptional contributions to rehabilitation medicine by awarding them Honorary Life Membership, presented during the Annual General Meeting.
This year, Dr Brian Pentland received Honorary Life Membership following a nomination by Dr Alasdair FitzGerald.
Dr Pentland is widely regarded as a founding figure in the development of rehabilitation medicine in Scotland. His vision, commitment and organisational leadership helped establish a tertiary brain injury rehabilitation service in Edinburgh, alongside outreach provision across Scotland. He subsequently supported the development of regional services through advice, training and mentorship, and led the establishment of a Scottish national managed clinical network and associated standards.
Dr Pentland also promoted academic activity by helping to establish rehabilitation-focused departments and certificate courses at the University of Edinburgh and Queen Margaret University. He mentored several PhD candidates and authored 100 NIH-referenced publications, as well as chapters in key specialist and general medical textbooks.
Throughout his career, Dr Pentland’s focus has remained firmly on improving patient services and supporting the professional development of others. His Honorary Life Membership recognises his exceptional and lasting contribution to rehabilitation medicine in Scotland and beyond.
Best Research Paper Award
The BSPRM Collaborative Research Network’s Best Research Paper Award is presented annually and is open to all BSPRM members. Eligible papers could report research, quality-improvement or audit work in rehabilitation and must have been published in a peer-reviewed journal, with an online publication date falling within 2025. Any author listed on the paper was welcome to submit an entry, regardless of authorship position.
Prize: £500 and an award presented at the conference.
Winner: Stephen Ashford
Paper: Longitudinal Goal Attainment With Repeat Injections of AbobotulinumtoxinA in Adults With Lower Limb Spasticity: Results From a Prospective Observational Study
Medical Student Essay Prize
BSPRM’s Medical Student Essay Prize is awarded annually on a competitive basis, with the award presented at the BSPRM Conference. UK medical students were invited to submit a 2,500-word essay on a subject relating to physical and rehabilitation medicine from a medical, biological or sociological perspective, including a review of the relevant literature.
Winner
Gabriel Ind
The Life Within the Living: Rehabilitation Medicine and the Quality of Life
Prize: £250 and an award presented at the conference.
Runners-up
Emma Braithwaite
Overlooked Dysautonomia: Early Screening With the NASA Lean Test (NLT) to Detect Orthostatic Intolerance Syndromes in Fibromyalgia
Eesa Farooqui
The Half of Rehabilitation We Sleep Through
Ling Gang
How Can We Improve Cardiac Rehabilitation for Patients With Genetic Dilated Cardiomyopathy?
Congratulations to Gabriel, Emma, Eesa and Ling on this excellent achievement.
Read the 2026 Medical Student Essay Collection
All essays submitted for the 2026 Medical Student Essay Prize have been compiled into a single document. We hope this collection will provide an interesting and valuable resource for the wider rehabilitation medicine community.
Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors for supporting our event:
The sponsorship funding was used to support BSPRM and the delivery of the annual scientific conference. The sponsorship did not influence the event (e.g. preparation of materials, delivery of educational content) as part of this sponsorship agreement. The sponsors may have exhibited at the event at their allocated promotional stand space and/or delivered a symposium event which is separate from the conference content and was clearly delivered on behalf of the sponsor. This sponsorship agreement is to promote educational, medical, scientific and/or charitable purposes and is not done in exchange for any explicit or implicit agreement or understanding that either party will purchase, administer, sell, supply, use, consume, prescribe, purchase, lease, order, recommend any goods or services.