Dr Esther Williamson

About me:

Esther graduated from the University of Queensland as a physiotherapist in 1993 and completed an MSc in Advancing Practice (Manipulative Therapy) at the University of Birmingham in 2005. She worked clinically as a physiotherapist for 11 years in Australia and the UK specialising in the management of patients with low back pain. She is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists and the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists. In 2004, Esther moved to a research position at the University of Warwick and worked there until 2013. During this time, she completed a PhD in Medicine investigating the role of patient held beliefs about injury and recovery in the development of late whiplash syndrome following an acute whiplash injury.

In 2013, Esther moved to the University of Oxford as a Research Fellow. She is currently Deputy-Director of the Centre of Rehabilitation Research based in the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford. In September 2020, she started a part-time position as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter.

Since 2004, Esther has worked on large, NIHR funded, randomised controlled trials evaluating the management of musculoskeletal conditions including ankle sprains, whiplash injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, scoliosis, back pain and shoulder pain following breast cancer treatment. Her research interests include developing complex rehabilitation interventions to manage musculoskeletal conditions, the integration of behaviour change strategies into physiotherapy practice, understanding issues related to patient adherence with exercise programmes and the role of exercise to prevent falls and mobility decline and promote healthy ageing. She is currently the project lead for the NIHR funded BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older people with Spinal Trouble) programme of research at the University of Oxford.

Esther is actively involved in the translation of research findings into practice. This includes the Strengthening and Stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) implementation study and Back Skills Training (BeST) implementation study funded by the Oxford CLARHC. NHS therapists have been successfully trained using online courses to deliver interventions developed in clinical trials with similar outcomes to those reported in the original RCTs.

Esther is currently working with Professor Sallie Lamb in her role at the University of Exeter to develop a library of courses to train health professionals to deliver evidence-based rehabilitation programmes to their patients.

Courses currently available:

https://isarah.octru.ox.ac.uk/

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/back-skills-training-programme

PhD, MSc in Advancing Practice (Manipulative Therapy), BPhty