Volunteer for a research study

Study title

The effect of simulating functional tasks during an immersive virtual reality environment on pain and fear of movement in people with chronic non-specific low back pain

Aims:

• The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of pain education and virtual reality gameplay on pain levels and fear of movement in individuals with persistent low back pain.
• The study is also exploring the impacts of these interventions on movement and physical activity levels.
• While pain education is a well-established treatment intervention, virtual reality gameplay is an emerging treatment and requires more investigation.
• If virtual reality gameplay combined with pain education is shown to be an effective treatment for pain and fear of movement in individuals with persistent low back pain, this could provide opportunities for alternative treatment approaches that incorporate virtual reality gameplay. This could take place in individual’s homes without the need for regular face to face contact with a physiotherapist.

Types of volunteers needed:

• Adults (18-65 years of age)
• Have persistent low back pain (six months or more)
• Able to attend the Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Services (STARS) Hospital for three weekly sessions

What is involved?

• If you decide to participate in the study, participation will include attending three weekly sessions at STARS. The first two sessions take approximately 60-90 minutes, and the final session takes approximately 30 minutes.
• Parking vouchers are available to cover parking costs at STARS, or alternatively you can elect to be reimbursed for public transport costs.
• Participation involves completing some questionnaires relating to pain intensity, your beliefs around pain and movement, and a measure of the level of your disability resulting from your back pain.
• At each testing session, markers will be placed on your trunk to enable motion capture as you perform some standard movements (e.g. bending forwards, backwards, sideways, lifting and lowering a 4kg box).
• The first session will also include a 1:1 pain education intervention, while the second session will include virtual reality gameplay where you will play three separate games (basketball hoops, ice curling, and ten-pin bowling).

What’s in it for me?

• There will be no direct benefit to you from participating in this research. However, your participation will help to determine if virtual reality combined with pain education has a positive impact on pain, fear of movement, physical activity levels, and movement of the lower back, in individuals with persistent low back pain.
• A $40 gift card will be provided to participants who complete all three sessions, to thank you for your time.

How can I volunteer or find out more?

People interested in participating or learning more about the study including location details can:

• Contact Dr Peter Window, Project Investigator, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital on email peter.window@health.qld.gov.au; or
• Read the Study information sheet provided here (PDF, 191.6 KB)

Project title

What is this research about?

Most treatment guidelines are developed based on research that focuses on how groups of patients respond to a treatment on average (i.e., findings from a randomised  controlled trial). However, response to treatment may vary substantially from one patient to another. Due to a focus on the average response, studies using traditional research designs may not identify patients who do not respond or who are harmed by a particular treatment. N-of-1 trials and single-case designs have emerged as a rigorous scientific method that can be used to identify individual patient response to treatments. This study aims to explore stakeholder perspectives about the barriers and facilitators for conducting N-of-1 trials and single-case studies in clinical practice.

What will you do?

You will complete an interview in person or via telephone or video call (e.g., Zoom or Teams). Prior to the interview, you will sign a participant consent form, complete a brief online questionnaire collecting information about you, and watch a video describing what N-of-1 trials and single-case designs are. This will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You will then take part in an interview. During the interview the researcher will ask you a series of questions about your views on N-of-1 trials and/or single-case designs. The interview will be audio-recorded. The interview will take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete. After the interview audio-recording has been transcribed, we will offer you the opportunity to review your interview transcript for data accuracy.

Who can participate?

We are looking for Australian Physiotherapists of any age with at least one year's experience in clinical practice in the musculoskeletal field.

How do I participate?

The interviews will be conducted via telephone or video call at a time convenient to you.

To find out more information, please contact Associate Professor Jane Nikles by email: catherine.nikles@uq.edu.au or mobile phone 0408 599 033.

Study title 

Development of small nerve fibre pathology in chronic whiplash-associated disorder 

What is the purpose of this research?

Some people recover from a whiplash or neck strain injury, while for other people neck pain can become a long-term problem. Recent research findings suggest that in some people who develop long-term whiplash neck pain, there are changes in the structure and function of small sensory nerve fibres responsible for transmitting information about temperature and pain. This is a phenomenon also noted in other pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. This may be related to the biological mechanisms underlying long-term pain in this condition, so we need to learn more about this to help improve diagnosis and treatment.

The aims of this study are: i) to determine when after a whiplash injury these nerve findings can be observed, and ii) to better understand their clinical significance and possible causes.

Who can participate

We are looking male and female participants aged 18-70 years who are either:

• Pain free, or
• Have neck pain following a whiplash or strain injury, such as from a car crash, within 3 weeks of injury.

What does participation in this research involve?

Participation in this research involves attending the Tess Cramond Pain & Research Centre, RBWH (STARS Building, 296 Herston Road, Herston) for data collection (60-90 minute appointment).

During the appointment we will ask you to complete some questionnaires regarding neck pain (if applicable), general health and psychological symptoms, undertake skin biopsies at the finger and ankle, and collect blood from a vein in your arm.

To reimburse for time and travel expenses, participants will be provided a $50 gift voucher for each appointment attended.

Register your interest

To register your interest, or find out more about this study, please contact Dr Nayomi Ranathunga on 048 602 0691 or email n.ranathunga@uq.net.au

This study has been approved by The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee [Approval No.2022/HE000921].

Project Title

Designing a VR Application for Motorised Wheelchair Selection: A User-Centred Approach

What is this research about?

Learning to use a wheelchair to gain mobility is one of the many specialised skills needed to regain independence after a severe injury that impairs the ability to walk. There are multiple types of motorised wheelchairs, each with different drive systems that change how navigation and turning works. Unfortunately, selecting an appropriate motorised wheelchair is often down to guesswork. Wheelchair users are often locked into their selection after their first choice, unable to change their device. There are currently no safe or cost-effective ways to test drive different wheelchairs in different situations and environments. Rehabilitation centres don’t always have access to all types of wheelchairs for testing. 

Immersive virtual reality (VR) technologies can create a safe, simulated experience that allows wheelchair users to test different motorised wheelchairs in multiple environments. This will give them the confidence to choose a wheelchair that suits their needs.  This is especially important if rehabilitation centres don’t have access to all wheelchair types in real life. 

Learn more about this project

Who can participate?

• Motorised wheelchair users with an acquired brain injury or spinal cord injury.
• Caregivers who were involved in the motorised wheelchair selection and training process. 

You must be over 18 to participate. 

What is involved?

• You will take part in an online interview for up to 1-hour
• We will discuss: 
  • your experiences of the wheelchair selection and training process
  • your thoughts and opinions about a virtual reality application for wheelchair selection.

Benefits of participating

Volunteers will be reimbursed for their time with $50. 

Register your interest

To register your interest or for more information, please contact:

Mr John Hitchens (motorised wheelchair user and Chief Investigator - Consumer) at johnjameshitchens@hotmail.com

Dr Robert Cuthbert (Chief Investigator) at robert.cuthbert@uq.edu.au

This study has been approved by The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee [Approval No. 2024/HE001503].