Physiology And Pathophysiology Of Trunk Control Mechanisms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$168,958.00
Summary
The overall aim of this series of experiments is to understand how the spine is controlled and how this changes in disease. Altered control has been identified in people with low back pain, yet we still know very little about the normal mechanisms for protection and support of the spine. Back pain is a common affliction that affects about 5% of Australians each year and is the most common and expensive work-related injury in western society. An understanding of normal control and the mechanism o ....The overall aim of this series of experiments is to understand how the spine is controlled and how this changes in disease. Altered control has been identified in people with low back pain, yet we still know very little about the normal mechanisms for protection and support of the spine. Back pain is a common affliction that affects about 5% of Australians each year and is the most common and expensive work-related injury in western society. An understanding of normal control and the mechanism of dysfunction is critical for identification of risk factors and development of strategies for rehabilitation and prevention. The experiments are divided into two series. The first series addresses normal spinal control. The questions to be asked deal with how the brain copes with the challenge of using trunk muscles for breathing and spinal control at the same time, how the activity of the trunk muscles is affected by input from sensory receptors in the joints, ligaments and muscles of the spine, and whether intra-abdominal pressure can support the trunk. The second series deals with clinical populations. The first aim is to identify whether people with respiratory diseases use trunk muscles for spinal control and breathing at the same time. If they cannot, we predict that they will be more prone to low back pain. We will test this in a large study of incidence of low back pain in people with and without respiratory disease. The second study will investigate the pelvic floor muscles which are important for continence and assist with spinal control. We will investigate whether people with incontinence have poor spinal control and whether this leads to back pain. The final experiment will identify whether people with low back pain interpret sensory information from the spine differently. By answering these questions we hope to intervene in the enormous personal, social and economic consequences of LBP which affects between 60-90% of the population at some stage in their life.Read moreRead less
Back pain reduces Australia�s GDP by $3.2 Billion per annum with over $1 billion being spent each year on low back pain treatments. While it makes sense to devote resources to prevention, unfortunately most prevention strategies do not work.We need a new approach based upon a better understanding of what triggers an episode of back pain. By studying risk factors that occur immediately prior to an episode of low back pain this project will increase understanding of what triggers an episode and op ....Back pain reduces Australia�s GDP by $3.2 Billion per annum with over $1 billion being spent each year on low back pain treatments. While it makes sense to devote resources to prevention, unfortunately most prevention strategies do not work.We need a new approach based upon a better understanding of what triggers an episode of back pain. By studying risk factors that occur immediately prior to an episode of low back pain this project will increase understanding of what triggers an episode and open the way for new, effective prevention programs.Read moreRead less
Central, Reflex And Mechanical Factors In The Control Of Human Breathing Muscles.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$497,968.00
Summary
We will study the neural output to human inspiratory muscles and how it is related to mechanical effectiveness for breathing and then how this relationship can change with respiratory disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnoea. We will also examine the spinal reflex connections of human breathing muscles in people with spinal cord injury. This work promises new understanding of the basic control of respiration and how it changes with disease.
Low back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent and enormously expensive to society: total payments made by Workcover for injuries to the low back were in excess of $530 million in NSW in 1996. Chronic LBP (pain lasting more than 3 months) accounts for up to 90% of these costs. Prevention of a large part of this costly problem could be achieved by effective treatment at the earlier sub-acute phase of LBP (6 weeks to 3 months duration). Exercise and advice are two widely-used treatments for sub-acute LBP ....Low back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent and enormously expensive to society: total payments made by Workcover for injuries to the low back were in excess of $530 million in NSW in 1996. Chronic LBP (pain lasting more than 3 months) accounts for up to 90% of these costs. Prevention of a large part of this costly problem could be achieved by effective treatment at the earlier sub-acute phase of LBP (6 weeks to 3 months duration). Exercise and advice are two widely-used treatments for sub-acute LBP, yet remarkably, their efficacy is unknown. For the first time, this study will rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of both a supervised exercise program and advice to return to normal activity for sub-acute LBP. When this study is completed, Australian practitioners will be able to adopt evidence based practice when managing sub-acute LBP. In addition, the study's results will enable practitioners to select the most effective treatment for each individual patient. The results of this study should lead to a large reduction in the incidence of chronic LBP, therefore the results should lead to significant savings in terms of social and economic costs.Read moreRead less
My work investigates the neural output to human inspiratory muscles and how it is related to mechanical effectiveness for breathing. The aim is to discover how this relationship can change with respiratory disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnoea. I also examine the changes in breathing muscle control in people with spinal cord injury. This work promises new understanding of the basic control of respiration and how it changes with disease.
Novel Approaches For Targeted Sleep Apnoea Treatment And Management
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,090,576.00
Summary
>1million Australian adults have obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). OSA has several causes. Untreated OSA is associated with major health consequences. <50% of OSA patients tolerate the main therapy, continuous positive airway pressure. New treatments are urgently required. This proposal aims to use and develop novel approaches to identify the causes of OSA on a per patient basis, improve current therapies and management approaches and test if new targeted therapies can be used to treat OSA.