Developed at RECOVER by Prof. Michele Sterling and Dr Rachel Elphinston, StressModex (Stress Modulation + Exercise) is a physiotherapist-delivered cognitive behavioural intervention for acute whiplash injuries that targets stress to reduce pain. This approach could be effective for patients with more severe orthopaedic injuries like broken bones after a road traffic crash, as psychological distress is common after these injuries and contributes to ongoing pain and disability.
A new project, StressModex for Inpatient Care Following Orthopaedic Road Trauma, will develop an adapted version of StressModex for delivery by physiotherapists in orthopaedic wards.
This work is funded by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) through a MAIC Innovative Research Action Award (MIRAA) and is scheduled to run through mid-2027.
In Stage 1 of this research program, we held a Foundational Stakeholder Consultation with consumers, clinicians, health service managers, and insurers. This identified priority areas the adaptation must address for StressModex to be feasible in an orthopaedic ward, which is a very different clinical setting to an outpatient physiotherapy clinic.
Co-design of the adapted StressModex intervention (Stage 2 of the ongoing program of research) will involve input from consumers, clinicians, health service managers and insurers.
Principal Investigator:
Dr Scott Farrell
Research Fellow, The University of Queensland RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Co-investigators:
Prof Michele Sterling
Professor and Program Leader, The University of Queensland RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Dr Rachel Elphinston
Senior Research Fellow, The University of Queensland RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Dr Christopher Papic
Research Fellow, The University of Queensland RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Dr Yanfei Xie
Research Fellow, The University of Queensland RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Dr Andrew Foster
Clinical Research Fellow, Jamieson Trauma Institute, Metro North Health
Andrew Statham
Orthopaedic Team Leader Physiotherapist, Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital
Joanna Lane
Senior Physiotherapist Trauma, Gold Coast University Hospital
Dr Jessica Formosa
Senior Research Coordinator, The University of Queensland RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Contact Us
For more information, email:
Dr Scott Farrell
scott.farrell@uq.edu.au
Dr Jessica Formosa
j.formosa@uq.edu.au