University of Exeter Medical School

Dr Lianne Wood

Dr Lianne Wood

Senior Research Fellow

 L.Wood2@exeter.ac.uk

 6152

 Medical School Building F.05

 

Medical School Building, St Luke's Campus, Magdalen Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK

Overview

Lianne is a clinical academic advanced practice spinal physiotherapist, She holds a post-doctoral Early Career Research Fellow of Orthopaedic Research UK, investigating how exercise creates change in outcomes of importance in low back pain. Since January 2023, she is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, working as a trial manager to deliver the MEMOIR trial (testing medication and graded motor imagery for complex regional pain syndrome) in collaboration with NeuRA, Australia. She has been a clinical academic for the past 13 years and has worked as an Advanced Spinal Practitioner in a large tertiary NHS trust in the chronic and acute settings. She continues to maintain a small clinical caseload.  

She was born and raised in South Africa, completing both undergraduate and post-graduate studies there before moving to the UK with her husband. She is passionate about improving care for chronic pain, both through testing treatments, improving pathways to enable access to care for people living with chronic conditions, and improving standards of care for physiotherapists.

Qualifications

  • PhD, Keele University (June 2021); Thesis: Treatment targets and outcomes in randomised controlled trials of exercise for on-specific low back pain. Supervisors: Prof Nadine Foster, Dr Annette Bishop, Dr Martyn Lewis

  • MSc Physiotherapy, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa (February 2012); Graduated cum laude; Thesis: The effect of specific stabilising exercises in pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy

  • BSc Physiotherapy, University of Cape Town, South Africa (December 2004); Graduated with a distinction in movement science 2004; Ione sellars anatomy award 2002; Class Medal for Anatomy and Human Biology 2002; Academic Scholarship 2001-2004; Thesis: The Health-Related Quality of Life Scale reliability and validity in a South African populace

Links

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Research

Research interests

Lianne’s research primarily focusses on chronic spinal pain and improving pathways and treatments for people with spinal pain. She has been involved in the development, implementation, and analysis of various advanced practice physiotherapy pathways, both in primary and secondary care. Lianne collaborates widely with an international team to deliver her current research. Her ORUK fellowship focusses on exercise for chronic low back pain, and exploring how we can optimize exercise prescription in a clinical setting. This work has developed off her PhD results which involved consensus methodology, systematic review and secondary dataset analysis. She has performed a causal mediation analysis exploring psychological mediators of exercise in low back pain and is currently writing up the results of a realist review exploring the contexts, mechanisms and outcomes that are important in exercise prescription for chronic low back pain. This will lead to intervention development work to develop a clinician training tool.

She has many years of clinical expertise as an advanced spinal practitioner working in an acute, same day emergency care setting, and on a chronic degenerative pathway. She has aimed to improve pathways of care for patients with suspected myelopathy, cauda equina syndrome and other pathology. She has secured funding to explore current management of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis awaiting surgery in the NHS. Specifically, she will explore what components should be included in a prehabilitation program to optimize surgical recovery. She is also passionate about changing pathways for cervical myelopathy in the UK and internationally, and is working with RECODE-DCM to agree international guidance.

Research projects

  • Understanding how exercise changes outcomes of importance in patients with low back pain: a realist review of prioritized treatment targets of exercise (funded by Orthopaedic Research UK)
  • Development of a clinician training tool to improve exercise prescription for chronic low back pain (funded by Orthopaedic Research UK))
  • MEMOIR: a randomised, 2x2 factorial, placebo-controlled trial of memantine and graded motor imagery for complex regional pain syndrome
  • Development of a prehabilitation intervention for people with lumbar spinal stenosis undergoing spinal surgery (funded by NIHR)
  • A secondary care practitioner-led myelopathy pathway
  • A review of cauda-equina syndrome management within a same-day emergency care unit
  • Exploring the effect of adherence to prescribed therapeutic exercise on pain and physical function in people with chronic non-specific low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Publications

Journal articles

Zipser CM, Margetis K, Pedro KM, Curt A, Fehlings M, Sadler I, Tetreault L, Davies BM, Committee AOSRECODEDCMS, Group MOTDCW, et al (In Press). Increasing awareness of degenerative cervical myelopathy: a preventative cause of non-traumatic spinal cord injury. Spinal cord
New P, Al-abbadey M, Wood L (In Press). Persistent Pain Management in Prison: an exploration of current practice and patient needs, and facilitators and barriers to intervention engagement. Prison service journal
Wood L, Foster NE, Dean SG, Booth V, Hayden JA, Booth A (2024). Contexts, behavioural mechanisms and outcomes to optimise therapeutic exercise prescription for persistent low back pain: a realist review. Br J Sports Med, 58(4), 222-230. Abstract.  Author URL.
Jiang Z, Davies B, Zipser C, Margetis K, Martin A, Matsoukas S, Zipser-Mohammadzada F, Kheram N, Boraschi A, Zakin E, et al (2024). The Frequency of Symptoms in Patients with a Diagnosis of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Results of a Scoping Review. Global Spine J, 14(4), 1395-1421. Abstract.  Author URL.
Jiang Z, Davies B, Zipser C, Margetis K, Martin A, Matsoukas S, Zipser-Mohammadzada F, Kheram N, Boraschi A, Zakin E, et al (2024). The value of Clinical signs in the diagnosis of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy - a Systematic review and Meta-analysis. Global Spine J, 14(4), 1369-1394. Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Booth V, Dean S, Foster NE, Hayden JA, Booth A (2024). Understanding how therapeutic exercise prescription changes outcomes important to patients with persistent non-specific low back pain: a realist review protocol. Syst Rev, 13(1). Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Foster NE, Lewis M, Bronfort G, Groessl EJ, Hewitt C, Miyamoto GC, Reme SE, Bishop A (2023). Matching the Outcomes to Treatment Targets of Exercise for Low Back Pain: Does it Make a Difference? Results of Secondary Analyses from Individual Patient Data of Randomised Controlled Trials and Pooling of Results Across Trials in Comparative Meta-analysis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 104(2), 218-228. Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Bejarano G, Csiernik B, Miyamoto GC, Mansell G, Hayden JA, Lewis M, Cashin AG (2023). Pain catastrophising and kinesiophobia mediate pain and physical function improvements with Pilates exercise in chronic low back pain: a mediation analysis of a randomised controlled trial. J Physiother, 69(3), 168-174. Abstract.  Author URL.
Sangeorzan I, Antonacci G, Martin A, Grodzinski B, Zipser CM, Murphy RKJ, Andriopoulou P, Cook CE, Anderson DB, Guest J, et al (2023). Toward Shared Decision-Making in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Res Protoc, 12 Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Wood L, Dunstan E, Dunstan E, Davies B, Davies B (2022). Degenerative cervical myelopathy: a case report of delayed diagnosis in a younger man. JOSPT cases
Wood L, Bishop A, Goodwin R, Stynes S (2022). Patient satisfaction with the first contact physiotherapy service: Results from the national evaluation survey. Musculoskeletal Care, 20(2), 363-370. Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Eveleigh C, Dixon M, Dunstan E, Salem K (2022). Was the impact of COVID-19 on a spinal triage service as significant as expected? a retrospective service evaluation: Results and evaluation. Musculoskeletal Care, 20(3), 697-704. Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Foster NE, Lewis M, Bishop A (2021). Exercise Interventions for Persistent Non-Specific Low Back Pain - Does Matching Outcomes to Treatment Targets Make a Difference? a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Pain, 22(2), 107-126. Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Czyz M, Forster S, Boszczyk BM (2021). The diagnosis and management of a vertebral artery loop causing cervical radiculopathy. Eur Spine J, 30(12), 1-6. Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Bishop A, Lewis M, Smeets RJEM, Bronfort G, Hayden JA, Foster NE (2021). Treatment targets of exercise for persistent non-specific low back pain: a consensus study. Physiotherapy, 112, 78-86. Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Ogilvie R, Hayden JA (2020). Specifying the treatment targets of exercise interventions: do we?. Br J Sports Med, 54(20), 1235-1236.  Author URL.
Wood L, Hendrick PA (2019). A systematic review and meta-analysis of pain neuroscience education for chronic low back pain: Short-and long-term outcomes of pain and disability. Eur J Pain, 23(2), 234-249. Abstract.  Author URL.
Wood L, Hendrick P, Boszczyk B, Dunstan E (2016). A review of the surgical conversion rate and independent management of spinal extended scope practitioners in a secondary care setting. Ann R Coll Surg Engl, 98(3), 187-191. Abstract.  Author URL.

Conferences

Wood L, Booth V, Dean S, Foster N, Hayden J, Booth A (2024). Contexts, mechanisms and outcomes to optimise exercise prescription for persistent low back pain: a realist review. International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists Incorporated. 4th - 6th Jul 2024. Abstract.
Dunstan E, Wood L (2024). PREVALENCE OF SERIOUS SPINAL PATHOLOGY IDENTIFIED BY ADVANCED SPINAL PRACTITIONERS ON a SAME DAY SPINAL EMERGENCY CARE PATHWAY. International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists Incorporated. 4th - 6th Jul 2024. Abstract.
Wood L, Dunstan E, Dixon M, Seagrave B, Salem K, D'Aquino D (2024). The natural history of degenerative cervical myelopathy at a tertiary spinal unit. International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists Incorporated. 4th - 6th Jul 2024. Abstract.
Wood L, Hayden J, Dean S, Booth V, Foster N, Booth A (2023). Exploring how exercise creates change in outcomes of importance for people with low back pain: preliminary results of a realist review. International Forum for Back and Neck Pain Research. 29th Aug - 1st Sep 2023. Abstract.
Wood L (2016). A systematic review of pain and disability outcomes of pain neuroscience education (PNE) in the management of chronic low back pain.
Wood L (2016). Effectiveness of pain neuroscience education in patients with low back pain managed conservatively and in those undergoing lumbar spinal surgery: a current review of literature.
Wood L (2016). Vertebral artery loop: a rare cause of cervical radiculopathy.

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External Engagement and Impact

Committee/panel activities

  • Steering committee for RECODE-DCM
  • RECODE-DCM Incubator member for Diagnostic Criteria for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy
  • RECODE-DCM Incubator member for Perioperative Management for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy
  • Research Officer for the Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner Network
  • Committee member for the Society of Back Pain Research

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