Current and Recent Neuromusculoskeletal Research Projects (2000-current)
McMeeken, J; Tully, E & Galea, M: Trunk and Hip movement and associated muscle activity during functional activities. (program)
The back and lower limbs are frequently affected by pain and arthritis. These problems are quite common by late middle age. Despite having significant effects on normal daily activities, few of these problems are life-threatening and research concerning the relationship between movement of the back and lower limb joints during normal daily activities has rarely been undertaken. The aim of this research project was to study both normal healthy people and those with movement problems.
Linnane, A; McMeeken, J; Galea, M; Black, B; Kovalenko, S; Bronnikov, G; Richardson, M: A clinical trial on the efficacy of co-enzyme Q10 in ameliorating muscle bioenergy deficiency in aged patients undergoing hip replacement surgery.
Laboratory work indicates that there is a significant decline of human muscle bioenergy with age. This clinical trial is designed to test the hypothesis that dietary supplementation with Coenzyme Q10, an essential component of the electron transport chain of the inner mitochondrial membrance, can be beneficial in boosting the bioenergy level of human muscle fibres. (Project was abandoned before completion).
Zito, G; Jull, G; Story, I: Musculoskeletal profile of headaches. (M.Physio)
The aim of this study was to create a musculoskeletal profile of headaches which originate from the neck, and compare it to similar profiles in subjects with migraines, a condition that by its definition has no cause in the joints and muscles of the neck, and non-headache sufferers. This knowledge will assist clinicians to determine more readily those headaches which have a musculoskeletal origin and thus benefit from physical treatment as opposed to those which have a vascular component and quite possibly would not benefit from such treatment.
Carroll, S; Cooper, C; Brown, D; Flood, S & Sormann, G: Effect of tendon transfer procedures on upper limb function in people with quadriplegia.
Carroll, S; Collins, B; Cooper, C; Brown, D: Estimation of proportion of people with quadriplegia suitable for the Freehand System.
Carroll, S; Brown, D; Flood, S; Sormann, G: Evaluation of implantable electrical stimulation device for restoring hand grasp in quadriplegia.
Galea, M; Reardon, K; Denehy, L; Bygott, I-L; Allen, T: Muscle strength and oxygen consumption in patients following total hip surgery.
McMeeken, J; Tully, E; Bygott, I-L; Story, I; Stillman, B: Back pain in young Australians.
Wajswelner, H; Finch, C, Bennell, K; Gabbe, B: Injury surveillance in community-level Australian football. (PhD)
Sports injuries represent a significant public health problem due to the time lost from participation, treatment costs to the community and the individual, and the possibility of long-term complications (ie osteoarthritis). Overall, Australian football must be considered a high priority in injury prevention research if sports injury prevention goals are to be achieved. However very little research has been undertaken at the community-level of the sport to describe the epidemiology of injuries sustained or to trial and evaluate methods of injury prevention. To detemine the effectiveness of injury prevention measures, baseline data is required for comparison. This project proposes a one year injury data collection to be undertaken in community-level football clubs for the purpose of providing timely and detailed injury data for the development of injury prevention measures and to provide baseline data for evaluating the effect of the implementation of injury prevention measures.
Wajswelner, H; Finch, C; Bennell, K; Gabbe, B: Injury prevention in community-level Australian football. (PhD)
The largest group of Australian football participants are adult, community-level players and yet very little injury prevention research has been undertaken in this group of players. Research specific to the community-level is necessary as differences between community-level participation and elite-level players prevent direct carryover of the results of elite research to the lower levels of play.
Wajswelner, H; Virtue, D: Outcomes of physiotherapy for low back pain in sports medicine centres.
Low back pain is a common condition which affects up to 80% of the population at some time in their lives with a massive physical and socio-economic cost to the Australian community. Physiotherapists compete with other health-care providers for market share in the management of low back pain (LBP). However there is little information available to the public or to third-party insurers on which to base a choice of provider based on outcomes of treatment. The research question of this project was: ‘What are the outcomes of physiotherapy treatment in terms of return to work, disability, pain, cost, and health status at discharge from treatment, six weeks and three month follow up?’
McMeeken, J; Warden, S: Ultrasound usage and dosage in sports physiotherapy.
Physiotherapists involved in sports medicine employ a number of treatment devices to facilitate healing of an injured tissue. A treatment device frequently used is the ultrasound unit. Although anecdotally ultrasound is frequently used, there is minimal data regarding the actual extent of ultrasound use. Similarly, there is limited data regarding what ultrasound dosages are actually being applied in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to survey, by way of questionnaire, the current status of ultrasound usage by physiotherapists, and also to explore opinions as to what constitutes an appropriate treatment dose.
Tully, E: Lumbo-femoral rhythm – an analogy of scapulo humeral rhythm. (Project within program)
The hips and lumbar spine work together in a coordinated fashion during movements of the trunk and legs. The aim of this project is to determine the relationship between movement of the hip and lumbar spine in healthy subjects between 60 – 75 years of age as the knee is brought towards the chest in standing. Clarification of this important movement interaction in older subjects with no neuromusculoskeletal condition affecting the hips or lumbar spine will benefit fitness/sports trainers, as well as clinicians treating patients with hip disease or injury.
Galea, M; Tully, E; Footahabadi, R: Hip and spinal movement during selected daily activities in subjects with and without hip osteoarthritis (project within program) (Master)
Research by this group has confirmed the important linkage between movement of the hip joint and the lumbar spine (low back) during hip flexion in healthy subjects. The hip-spine movement interaction in frequently performed daily activities deserves similar analysis. Such information provides a baseline for clinicians assessing and treating patients with movement dysfunction. Osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip joint affects a significant proportion of the elderly community with reports of disabling pain, stiffness, and loss of independence. It is anticipated that hip-spine movement patterns may be altered in older subjects with hip osteoarthritis (OA), many of whom report difficulties with performance of essential daily activities.
Story, I (replaced by J McMeeken); Ford, J; Gonzales, M; Briggs, C: The incidence of inflammation in normal lumbar discs (PhD)
The aim of this project is to establish whether normal discs have any evidence of inflammation. Results from the discs in this study will then be compared to inflammation results from another study of injured discs.
Story, I (replaced by J McMeeken) & Ford, J: The predictive validity of internal disc disruption. (PhD)
Authorities on low back pain (LBP) have recommended further study into improved methods of diagnosis. Improved diagnosis of LBP would enable researchers to conduct further research into treatment that may be more specific to the problem, and therefore more effective. However there are currently no accurate diagnostic tests for the majority of sufferers with LBP. One method of determining if a proposed diagnosis is accurate or real is by seeing if patients with that diagnosis do better/worse over time compared to patients without that diagnosis. The current study aims to investigate two groups of subjects who have been diagnosed with and without internal disc disruption (IDD) in such a study.
Story, I (replaced by J McMeeken) & Ford, J: The clinical features of lumbar internal disc disruption. (PhD)
Researchers and practitioners working with patients having long term low back pain (LBP) require improved methods to diagnose and treat this common problem. Lumba discography may be a useful technique in diagnosing the disc related LBP. It involves injection of dye into the disc to see whether a disc is painful and injured. However discography is unsually only used in patients considering surgery and therefore cannot help diagnose others with LBP not suitable or not referred for surgery. This project aims to establish whether a detailed clinical assessment can diagnose disc related LBP as well as discography.
Story, I (replaced by J McMeeken); Gonzales, M; Ford, J: The presence of inflammation in internal disc disruption. (PhD)
Researchers and practitioners working with patients having long term low back pain (LBP) require improved methods to diagnose and treat this common problem. A possible new diagnosis for chronic LBP is internal disc disruption where the disc part of the spine becomes inflamed and develops cracks or fissures. This diagnosis remains controversial, and the role of inflammation in the diagnosis and treatment of internal disc disruption is unclear.
Story, I; Flynn, C: A pilot study of the use of video-fluoroscopy in the assessment and treatment of instability of the lumbar spine(PhD)
The costs of treating and caring for chronic back problems have become enormous. Instability of the lumbar spine is one of many conditions that have been found to lead to chronic, recurring low back pain. The aims of this study are to trial a new technique involving clinical and radiological tests, to identify patients with instability and to then investigate the efficacy of a treatment regime designed to stop the progression from acute to chronic problem.
Story, I; Urquhart, D: A telephone survey investigatiing clinical assessment of transversus abdominis in low back pain. (PhD)
Low back pain and disability is an ongoing problem in Western Society. A diverse range of techniques, modalities and exercises are available to physiotherapists for the management of low back pain and disability. Research undertaken in Australia has investigated the deep muscles surrounding the lumbar spine, in particular the deep abdominal muscle, transversus abdominis (TrA). This research has demonstrated dysfunction of the TrA muscle in low back pain subjects and has shown that specific exercises to retrain this muscle can assist in reducing low back pain and disability. However no research to date has investigated how assessment procedures for TrA are being implemented in the clinical setting. This study aims to examine how physiotherapists are assessing TrA in the clinical setting.
Tully, E; McMeeken, J; Stillman, B: The association between mobility, joint position sense and injury in the knee and spinal joints in young adults.
The purpose of this project is to examine the relationship between the ability to sense the position of a joint without observing it (joint position sense), the amount of movement at the same joint and pervious injury in young adults. Participants will first be questioned about their past history of injury to their back and knee. Passive mobility at the knee and trunk will then be measured in two subject groups, categorised by amount of knee mobility. Finally, joint position sense will be measured by asking the participants, with their eyes closed, to sense then actively reproduce positions of the knee and trunk selected by the examiner.
McMeeken, J; Crossley, K; Warden, S: Ultrasound unit performance in physiotherapy and clinician awareness of performance.
Physiotherapists employ a number of treatment techniques to improve an individual’s wellbeing and personal performance. A modality frequently used is ultrasound energy. Ultrasound energy is generated by ultrasound units. Previous research has shown that these units do not always perform within specification. However, it is not known whether therapists are aware of this poor performance. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of ultrasound units being used in clinical practice, and assess by way of questionnaire whether therapists are aware of the performance of their ultrasound unit/s.
McMeeken, J; Bialocerkowski, A; Bragge, P: Playing related musculoskeletal disorders in elite pianists: prevalence and risk factors. (PhD)
The aim of this study is to enhance our understanding of the nature and extent of physical disorders associated with tertiary and professional-level piano playing. This will be achieved in two ways: by interviewing representatives of three groups in the field, and by undertaking a survey of a group of tertiary piano students after analysis of the interviews. Information from the interviews will help to describe the extent of and risk factors for piano-related disorders. This information combined with information from the survey will be used to aid the development of educational and other preventative strategies to prevent the onset of such disorders.
Bialocerkowski, A; Grimmer, K; Bain, G. Development Wrist Outcome measures.
Outcome measures are important for tracking change in an individual over a period of time. Thus they must be valid, reliable and sensitive to detect change, plus quantify variable that are of interest to clinicians and patients. This research aims to further explore and develop wrist outcome measures, which assess impairment variables (such as strength) and functional status.
The Wrist Outcome Questionnaire is an outcome instrument that assesses the functional status of an individual from their perspective, following a wrist injury. It was developed from qualitative reserach which investigated the functional effects of a wrist disorder and has undergone preliminary testing to establish its validity (face, content, construct), test-retest reliability (over a 24-hour period) and sensitivity to detect change over time. We aim to continue to development of this instrument and implement it in clinical practice.
Ford, J; Page, P; McMeeken, J; Wilde, V: The criteria for the diagnosis of lumbar zygapohyseal joint pain based on the surveying of an expert panel. (PhD)
This project aims to assemble an expert panel of Australian and New Zealand Medical Specialists in low back pain; co-ordinators of postgraduate Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy courses at Australian and New Zealand universities; and practising Australian and New Zealand specialist physiotherapists, in order to establish diagnostic criteria for lumbar zygapophyseal joint pain.