Research can only be done with the collaboration of people affected by back pain.
On this page you can read about research projects that are looking for participants. For more information about these projects, you should contact the particular research team. Contact details are listed below.
We are currently recruiting participants for the following research projects:
- Study of people living with pain
- Faith and pain survey
- Return to work policy survey
- Chronic lower back pain patients needed
- Effects of exercise on chronic low back pain
If you are a researcher and want to advertise your call for participants on the BackCare website, please contact BackCare's Research and Information Officer, email.
Study of people living with pain
Study of people living with pain to discuss how it might affect the ability to work and sickness certification
Would you be willing to discuss your views on living with pain and working life?
Researchers are looking for people living with pain to discuss how it might affect the ability to work and sickness certification
This will be at your convenience; you can be interviewed either face-to-face or over the telephone, or participate in a local focus group. You might want to discuss experiences with your GP and employer, the new fit note, and benefits. We need to know more about how these issues are negotiated to improve the system.
All data will be kept confidential and all reasonable expenses paid.
If you are interested in finding out more, and are 18 or over, please contact the study co-ordinator, Elaine Heaver, at the Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath (01225) 384047 or esh26@bath.ac.uk
Faith and pain survey
Are you currently suffering from back or any other type of pain? If so then your contribution to this survey, exploring faith as a method used to cope with pain, could be extremely valuable.
Its aim is to gain some insight into whether faith can have a postive effect on health and wellbeing and will do so by looking at factors including intensity of pain, site of pain, mood, wellbeing and religious coping.
Although this survey deals with the role of faith in coping with pain you do not need to have any religious beliefs and you need not be actively seeking treatment for your pain in order to participate. All contributions are welcomed and appreciated and will be treated in the strictest confidence.
To complete the survey please click here or copy the following URL into your browser: http://www.pc.rhul.ac.uk/sites/surveys/TakeSurvey.asp?PageNumber=1&SurveyID=81L963LJ3mlKG
Thank You.
Royal Holloway University of London
Return to work policy survey
Are you an employee who has or have had back pain? Do you have experience of returning to work or are you about to return to work after a long-term absence? Would you like to make the return to work process easier for people with back pain?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes then we would be keen to hear from you.
Being diagnosed with back pain can lead to long-term absence form work, and the inactivity and isolation associated with it can in turn have further detrimental effects on health. Often anxiety about returning to work prevents people from doing so causing them to remain inactive and become further isolated. Research suggests that timely, well planned and executed return-to-work processes have substantial positive benefits for the health and rehabilitation of those returning to work.
In order to help all you have to do is complete the short, confidential survey on your experiences and knowledge regarding return to work procedures. The results will be published in a report, which will hopefully be used to improve back to work policy for those with back pain. You will also be able to have access to this report as well as ongoing information on further developments in the field. Your participation would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to participate or would like more information please contact:
Ben Hicks at b.hicks@gold.ac.uk or by calling 07881 915776
Alternatively visit: http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/pss01bh
Thank You.
Chronic Lower Back Pain patients needed
At the Birmingham University Imaging Centre, we are conducting research studying how the brain processes painful information. We are currently looking for research subjects with chronic pain. We use a number of procedures to investigate how you experience pain, when and why your pain experience might change and how your brain interprets and causes pain experience. We are currently looking for research subjects with fibromyalgia and non specific low back pain.
We use a new technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI for short. fMRI takes pictures of the brain using powerful magnets. These pictures can show how different parts of the human brain work.
If you are interested in volunteering for this research study, we want to hear from you. Participants are compensated for their time and travel. Call the study Coordinator Jody Osborn for details
Office: (0121) 414 8836
Mobile: 07854 44 00 79
Email:jxo581@bham.ac.uk
Thank you!
Effects of exercise on chronic low back pain
Researchers from Roehampton University School of Human and Life Sciences are looking to recruit 20 chronic low back pain (CLBP) male sufferers, as well as healthy male volunteers, 24-64 years old, to take part in a research study. The study will involve a one-off 15 minute moderate treadmill exercise (walking) and will examine the immediate physiological effects that it produces. Resting heart rate and blood pressure, salivary cortisol level, back muscles activity and pain intensity will be measured by non-invasive means pre and post exercise.
The aims of the study are to examine the immediate physiological effects of treadmill exercise in CLBP and to investigate whether these effects are mediated by individual levels of: fear of injury, pain, catastrophising and depression. The researchers hope to provide a snapshot of the effects of exercise in CLBP patients and further the understanding of their neuroendocrine mechanisms.
Information learned from this study will be used to help our understanding of physiological and psychological reactions to Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP), as well as the effects of exercise on this chronic pain condition. This knowledge may expand the scope of application of exercise as a therapeutic intervention and may lead to advances in the prevention and treatment of CLBP and other chronic pain conditions.
For more information on this study or if you would like to take part email Dragomir P Lubomirov or email Dr Jolanta Opacka-Juffry.