To celebrate CHFT's Research Month, we've been finding out a bit more about the current research projects our Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) are working on from Physiotherapist, Tash Maher.
There have recently been several research studies led by AHPs, including the ongoing SORTED trial, which was set up by Advanced Physiotherapist, Gill Fielder. The SORTED trial stands for Surgery Or Rehabilitation for Traumatic shouldEr Dislocations and is a UK-based study comparing surgery plus rehabilitation versus rehabilitation alone for young adults with a first-time traumatic shoulder dislocation. Gil is the study's Principle Investigator (PI) and will soon be bringing Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner, Donna Richardson into the study as Associate PI. The study will establish the best way to treat young adults who dislocate their shoulders for the first time.
The RaCeR 2 study closed last month, and the final results have not yet been published. The study compared different approaches to physiotherapy following surgery to repair rotator cuff of the shoulder. This study was led by Tash as PI and Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner, Jess Holdsworth, was brought on as Associate PI. The main outcomes were to monitor shoulder pain and disability at 12 weeks after surgery.
Potential upcoming studies include the SUPPORTED trial which looks at current guideline-based care for people with shoulder osteoarthritis. It hopes to understand how acceptable and feasible the shoulder osteoarthritis intervention and trial procedures are for patients and physiotherapists in order to identify barriers to participation. Tash is again leading this as PI and will be bringing on another Associate PI.