Here at the practice we are very keen to undertake new, or facilitate exhisting research, in an attempt to expand our understanding of spinal conditions and their management. Education of others, both medical and lay, is an important part of this process and one we take very seriously. Chris is employed as a research fellow to co-ordinate this effort part of which has culminated in the launching of the very website you are reading and the construction of the patient education booklets, available in the ‘Pdf ‘ area.
We are currently running two in-house projects along side our continual audit system:
1) Looking at the effectiveness of Funtional Restoration (A specific type of exercise and behavioural rehab) at the two-year follow-up stage and the resulting implications.
2) A two-year follow-up to a previously documented study investgating a specific type of bone graft material (Demineralised Bone Matrix) used in spinal fusions.
We have also been invited to partake in a major European study investigating the genetic factors involved within Vertebral Disc Degeneration. This is still in the early stages but watch this space as it may be the study that begins a new era in the understanding of disc degeneration, providing insight into new treatment techniques.
Reviews of Publications
There are hundreds of articles published in medical journals every year but their relevance and quality can be extremely varied. On top of this they are usually not accessbile to the general public and are written in medical terminology so understanding them can be very difficult. In an attempt to overcome this there are a few facilities that already provide a ‘critical review’ service, the links of which can be found below, and we will also try to provide this to what we feel are the most releveant papers each month or so. These can be found by clicking here.
Back Care.org
Librarial Resources
There are many librarial resouces available but sadly unless you are a subscribing member you will have very limited access and generally, papers will only be in abstract form. Despite this the following links may proove useful for anyone looking for published material. Please be aware that if you are of a non-medical background you may find some of the terminology difficult to interpret however you don’t know unless you try!!!
The Cochrane Colaboration www.cochrane.org
Wiley Interscience www.interscience.wiley.com
Free Medical Journals www.freemedicaljournals.com
Medical Journals from Around the World www.medical-journals.com
JAMA & Archives www.pubs.ama-assn.org
Primary Care Internet Guide www.uib.no/isf/guide/journal.htm
Journal Watch www.jwatch.org
