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Research

This practice is a research practice, and works in partnership with the internationally renowned Arthritis Research Campaign National Primary Care Centre at Keele University www.keele.ac.uk/research/pchs/pcmrc The practice helps researchers at Keele to develop their ideas to ensure that the research addresses questions that are important to the Health Service, and meet the needs of patients who suffer from painful conditions of their joints, bones and muscles.
Painful musculoskeletal conditions have a major impact on health in the UK population. They are the commonest cause of disability, a major reason for work loss, the single most costly area of personal expenditure on health, and the most frequent chronic illness for which people seek help from primary health care professionals. The patients, Doctors and Nurses in this practice have helped researchers at Keele to carry out the following projects, which have been published in the most important journal publications in the field for this type of research:

Joint Pain

The epidemiology and management of osteoarthritis in primary care
Grant funder and amount: Medical Research Council.
Chief Investigator: Peter Croft
Thousands of patients registered with Doctors in North Staffordshire have helped out with this project through answering a series of postal questionnaires on their changing experiences of health over the past six years. This research has shown that joint pain is far more common than previously thought, and has a big impact on people’s lives, causing a significant amount of disability in later life. We are now working closely with Doctors to find ways the best ways for patients to manage their joint pain, to prevent long term pain and disability.
Thomas E, Peat G, Harris L, Wilkie R, Croft PR (2004). The prevalence of pain and pain interference in a general population of older adults: Cross-sectional findings from the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (NorStOP). Pain, 110, pp. 361-368

A pragmatic randomized controlled trial in primary care to determine the effectiveness of active physiotherapy treatment and enhanced pharmacy review for knee pain in older people
Grant funder and amount: Arthritis Research Campaign
Chief Investigator: Julius Sim
Keele Research Centre has undertaken a number of trials of different ways of caring for people with knee pain and osteoarthritis. This trial of primary care management of knee pain by pharmacists and by physiotherapists, showed significant short term benefits for patients, including reduction in pain for those who underwent the physiotherapy treatment, and reduction in consumption of potentially harmful non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for those who underwent enhanced pharmacy review
Hay EM, Foster NE, Thomas E, Peat G, Phelan M, Yates HE, Blenkinsopp A, Sim J (2006). Effectiveness of community physiotherapy and enhanced pharmacy review for knee pain in people aged over 55 presenting to primary care: pragmatic randomised trial. British Medical Journal, 333, pp. 995-998.

Back Pain

Improving the effectiveness of primary care for non-specific back pain
Grant funder and amount: Arthritis Research Campaign
Chief Investigator: Nadine Foster
A significant amount of money is spent on back pain research, yet so far, no single method of caring for patients with back pain has been found which shows a positive long-term benefit for the majority of patients. Our approach is different – where we set out to find out what people believe about their pain, and how such beliefs affect the treatment they receive, and the effect of that treatment. This programme of work is helping us to develop new ways of screening patients, and targeting them towards the types of treatment for back pain that would suit them the best.

Early management of back pain in primary care: a comparison of physical treatments versus a back pain management programme
Grant funder and amount: National Lottery Charities Board.
Chief Investigator: Peter Croft
In this study, we showed that it was possible for physiotherapists to treat back pain using methods which also addressed the emotional factors which people experience with pain, and that this approach enabled patients to manage their pain, leading to fewer visits to the GP or hospital.

Outcomes from the research undertaken in this practice has also contributed to the development of new Government Policies, such as the Musculoskeletal Framework published by the Department of Health

www.dh.gov.uk/

The research partnership between Keele and this practice has also contributed to development of government guidelines for health care workers on how best to treat patients who suffer from joint pain - www.nice.nhs.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=download&o=39557.

The link for our centre website is www.keele.ac.uk/research/pchs/pcmrc/
For more information on patient involvement in our research download the Health research flyer.