Adapting the StressModEx model into physiotherapy inpatient care for multi-trauma patients
Do you have a lived experience of traumatic injuries, such as from a motor vehicle crash?
If so, we would like you to contribute your valuable experiences and ideas to the development of a research proposal at the University of Queensland.
We are seeking people with lived experience of orthopaedic or multi-trauma (e.g., from a motor vehicle crash), which included a stay in hospital.
What are the aims of the research project?
We plan to run a series of studies to test whether introducing a stress reduction therapy will help reduce pain for inpatients after multi-trauma injuries (as compared to usual care).
The stress reduction therapy is called the StressModEx model, and the model has been successful for reducing pain after whiplash injury.
Project lead
Dr Scott Farrell is a Research Fellow and physiotherapist at RECOVER Injury Research Centre, The University of Queensland. His research investigates neurological, genetic and inflammatory mechanisms underpinning chronic musculoskeletal pain, with a particular focus on whiplash associated disorder.
The consultation activity
- Consumers will participate in a one-off consultation activity for approximately one hour.
- Researchers will explain the study proposal and ask for your feedback.
- The meeting will be held via Zoom (online).
- Consumers will be given a $50 gift voucher as reimbursement for their time and as a token of our appreciation.
- We propose to hold the consultation session on a day and time that suits consumer availability.
During the session, you will have the opportunity to discuss the project and provide specific input to the researchers about the study design and methods from the consumer perspective.
We would like to ask you:
- In hospital, were you affected by distress related to the trauma or your injuries? How was this addressed on the ward?
- How would you have perceived a ward physiotherapist incorporating psychological concepts such as stress reduction into their assessment and treatment sessions?
To register
To register your interest to participate or if you have any questions, please email Alison Bell, Knowledge Translation and Consumer Engagement Manager, RECOVER Injury Research Centre, alison.bell@uq.edu.au
Further information
Background
In a motor vehicle crash, people may sustain multiple traumatic injuries (multi-trauma), such as broken bones, joint injuries or skin wounds. Patients may require surgery and a stay in hospital on a trauma ward. After such injuries, up to 1 in 5 people develop long term pain, persisting after their immediate injuries have healed. Post-injury emotional distress is common following traumatic injury.
In patients with whiplash neck strain injury from a motor vehicle crash, our research group has found that – in those at risk of developing long term pain – physiotherapy treatment combining stress reduction with exercise in the early weeks after injury led to less long-term pain than standard physiotherapy.
What will the information gathered be used for?
The insight gained from consumer consultation sessions will guide our planning of this proposed research program.
Based on the current understanding of the biology of pain and its relationship to post-traumatic stress, such an approach could be helpful for multi-trauma patients. However, this has not been tested in a clinical study.