Forum for Osteopathic Research

30/06/2026

**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.

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...

27/06/2026

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

21/05/2026

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

08/05/2026

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]

03/05/2026

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]

27/04/2026

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.

20/02/2026

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.

Unstructured or “free play” is essential for children’s psychological, emotional, social, and physical development. For disabled children, accessible playgrounds function as assistive environments ...

18/02/2026

Rethinking Manual Therapy Education: Where Does Technology Fit?
How do we teach hands-on skills in an increasingly digital world?
In a recent qualitative study with manual therapy educators (physiotherapy & osteopathy) from five countries, we explored educators’ perspectives on current MT teaching methods and the role of 3D technologies such as virtual reality (VR) in MT education.
📌 Key takeaway:
Educators are critically reflecting not only on how MT is taught, but also on their own role in that process. While acknowledging the complexity of teaching hands-on skills, participants viewed technologies like VR as potentially transformative: not as replacements, but as adjuncts to traditional teaching that may enhance spatial understanding, learner engagement, and consistency.
⚠️ At the same time, educators highlighted important barriers, including curriculum constraints, resource availability, and the challenge of integrating technology without losing the embodied nature of MT practice.
🚀 What’s next?
There is a clear call for future research to evaluate whether tools like VR genuinely add value to traditional MT education and how they can be meaningfully embedded into curricula.
If you’re involved in manual therapy education, clinical teaching, or educational innovation:
👉 How are you navigating this paradigm shift?
👉 Have you experimented with VR or other 3D tools in your teaching?
Let’s keep the conversation going.

Three-dimensional (3D) technologies such as virtual reality (VR) may facilitate the teaching and learning of manual therapy (MT). Teachers play a pivotal role in determining how new tools and techn...

24/01/2026

I’m thrilled to be leading this study, and pleased to share that the review is now well underway and getting close to completion.
What we’re doing
Following Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology
Registered on the Open Science Framework
Searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, AMED (July 2005–July 2025)
Synthesised outcome measures and domains narratively and in tables
Why it matters:
This work is a key early step toward developing a Core Outcome Set (COS) for NTSP—so future studies measure what matters most, consistently, and comparably.
If you’re working in thoracic spine pain, outcomes research, or conservative care trials—watch this space. A COS for NTSP is overdue.
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https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/1/e114437