Evidence Matters

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-every-clinic-can-contribute-research-kesava-kovanur-sampath-y63ic

Why Every Clinic Can Contribute to Research A Conversation Worth Having After publishing Research Begins in the Clinic, I received several messages from clinicians that all centred around the same idea. "I understand why research is important… but my clinic is small.

**What exactly is "upper back pain"?**

It sounds like a simple question, but our newly published study in *BMJ Open* suggests the answer isn't as straightforward as many of us might think.

We interviewed experienced physiotherapists and osteopaths across New Zealand to explore how they define, reason about and manage upper back pain in clinical practice.

Some key insights emerged:

🔹 **Upper back pain is a "fuzzy" construct.** Clinicians often used different anatomical boundaries and terminology, highlighting the need for greater consistency in how we define this region.

🔹 **It's about more than biomechanics.** While physical assessment remains important, clinicians increasingly considered psychosocial factors, lifestyle, patient beliefs and broader contributors to pain.

🔹 **Hands-on care is a starting point—not the destination.** Manual therapy was commonly used to facilitate movement, reduce symptoms and build confidence, but rarely as a standalone treatment. Exercise, education and self-management formed an integral part of care.

🔹 **The therapeutic relationship matters.** Experienced clinicians described a shift towards shared decision-making, individualised care and empowering patients rather than simply treating symptoms.

Perhaps the most interesting finding was that these themes weren't isolated. Together, they reflected an evolution in clinical practice—from a predominantly intervention-focused approach towards more collaborative, patient-centred care.

One challenge remains: there is still considerable ambiguity around the terms *upper back pain* and *thoracic spine pain*. Developing clearer terminology and a shared understanding across professions may help improve communication, education and future clinical guidelines.

I'd be interested to hear from clinicians:

**👉 How do you define "upper back pain" in your own practice? Do you distinguish it from thoracic spine pain, or do you use the terms interchangeably?**

Looking forward to hearing your perspectives.
The article is open access, so its free to download and read. Let me know your thoughts.

More than biomechanics: how New Zealand manipulative physiotherapists and osteopaths conceptualise and manage upper back pain—a qualitative study Objective To explore how physiotherapists and osteopaths who use manual therapy in New Zealand conceptualise, reason about and manage upper back pain (UBP), a clinically relevant but inconsistently defined musculoskeletal presentation. Design Qualitative study using semistructured interviews and ref...

Research Begins in the Clinic We Started with a Simple Question One of the first questions I asked during our recent ONZ Research Webinar was deceptively simple: "How do you know your patients are getting better?" The responses reflected the reality of clinical practice. Some relied primarily on clinical judgement, others on wha

Thank you to those who have already participated. If you have not yet had the chance, we would value your input on how you provide culturally safe care within your osteopathic practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Survey Link here:
https://lnkd.in/gB5m-SHa

Are you an Employer of new osteopathy gradautes?

We are inviting employers, supervisors, clinic owners, educators, professional body representatives, and other stakeholders who work with or support recent osteopathy graduates in Australia and New Zealand to take part in a research study on transition to practice.

Participation involves a voluntary 30–45 minute online interview exploring expectations of new graduates, observed strengths and challenges, supervision, workplace support, and transition-to-practice needs.

This project has been approved by WINTEC Human Research Ethics Committee: WTLR02290126. The study has been registered with RMIT University [2026-30482-32069].

To learn more or request the Participant Information Sheet, please contact the research team: [email protected] or [email protected]

We are now recruiting for an Australasian qualitative study exploring osteopathy graduates’ perceived readiness for professional practice. Its one of its kind (possibly the first) with collaborators from all Universities/Insititutions teaching osteopathy in Australia and New Zealand.
Osteopathy Graduates’ Perceived Readiness for Professional Practice (OGR2P) will involve online interviews with recent osteopathy graduates from Australia and New Zealand who are within 0–2 years of graduation.
We are interested in hearing about graduates’ experiences of transitioning into professional practice, including what supported them, what challenged them, and how osteopathy education and early-career support can be strengthened.
Participation involves one online interview of approximately 30–45 minutes, conducted via Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
This study has received ethics approval from the Wintec Human Research Ethics Committee and has also been registered with RMIT as part of the Australasian research collaboration.
Your experience can help shape future osteopathy education and graduate transition support across Australia and New Zealand. if you know someone that may meet the criteria, please pass it on.
For further information, please contact:
[email protected] or [email protected]

Calling osteopaths practising in Aotearoa New Zealand
We are inviting you to take part in a national survey exploring culturally appropriate and safe care in osteopathic practice.
This study aims to better understand:
How cultural safety is perceived and applied in everyday practice
What supports (and challenges) delivering culturally appropriate care
How we can strengthen practice, education, and professional development in this space
🕒 The survey takes 10–15 minutes
🔒 Responses are anonymous
📊 Findings will inform future research, education, and practice initiatives
👉 Take part here: https://qualtricsxm44jdct84p.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eSgB2OdUQ79WBxA
Ethics approval has been obtained from the WINTEC Human Ethics Research Committee (WTLR05110326).
Please feel free to share this with colleagues across your networks.

Free play matters. For disabled children, accessible playgrounds act like assistive environments—supporting participation and inclusion.

Proud to celebrate student-led research exploring how NZ local councils approach accessible playground design. Key barriers were funding, limited awareness/expertise (especially among contractors), sourcing suitable equipment, and space constraints.

For us in osteopathy, participation is a health outcome too — helping children stay active, confident, connected, and doing the things that matter to them. That makes inclusive play spaces everyone’s business.

Sharing this with our osteopathic community to keep accessibility and participation on the radar in practice and advocacy.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of New Zealand council members when developing accessible public playgrounds for children of all abilities Unstructured or “free play” is essential for children’s psychological, emotional, social, and physical development. For disabled children, accessible playgrounds function as assistive environments ...