Plain Language Summaries

Here you can read summaries of some of our recent research findings, without the technical jargon.

Chronic pain

Fibromyalgia

Healthcare services

Inflammatory Arthritis

Opioids and anaesthesia

Work and MSK / Arthritis

Chronic pain

How does diet affect chronic pain?

People with higher-quality diets had somewhat lower odds of chronic pain, with different diet patterns linked to effects on different types of pain.

Find out more

Interventions to reduce chronic pain across the whole population

We looked at how small changes in physical activity and body weight across entire populations might reduce the burden of high-impact chronic pain.

Find out more

Physical activity, sleep disturbance, and the likelihood of future pain in older adults

Being physically active is associated with a lower likelihood of future pain in older adults, but only when sleep is not disturbed.

Find out more

Adverse childhood events can lead to an increase in prevalence of chronic pain in adulthood

Our analysis of UK Biobank data reveals an increased risk of developing all-over body pain in adulthood for those who experience adverse childhood events, including maltreatment and trauma.

Find out more

Childhood trauma linked to mental health problems and chronic pain in later life

Findings from the CAPE study show trauma in childhood increases the risk of some conditions more than others, and that women are more affected than men.

Find out more

Effect of activity on arm pain

Patients with arm pain do better if they try to keep active rather than resting.

Find out more

Fibromyalgia

Healthcare systems are organised to withdraw support from people with fibromyalgia

People with fibromyalgia consistently experience dismissal and neglect across healthcare systems, moving beyond individual experiences to examine the institutional forces at play.

Find out more

Three in four who meet the criteria remain undiagnosed

Three in four people who meet the criteria for fibromyalgia remain undiagnosed. We used data from over 167,000 UK Biobank participants to find out how common this is, and whether certain groups are more likely to be missed.

Find out more

Health and healthcare experiences of people with symptoms of fibromyalgia

When compared with people with chronic widespread pain, people with fibromyalgia symptoms (whether diagnosed or undiagnosed) felt a greater impact of their symptoms, especially in their ability to function in daily life and to work.

Find out more

Patient preferences on healthcare services for people with fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic health condition affecting about 2.5 million people in the UK. We asked 518 patients diagnosed with the condition to complete a short survey to tell us what features they would prefer to see when considering healthcare services for people with fibromyalgia.

Find out more

Do subgroups exist in fibromyalgia?

We found that people with fibromyalgia fall into three distinct groups, and their mental well-being and social circumstances tell them apart more clearly than their physical symptoms do.

Find out more

UK healthcare services for people with fibromyalgia

Two web-based national surveys captured the profile of both NHS and non-NHS healthcare services in the UK for people with fibromyalgia.

Find out more

How well can current diagnosis criteria identify people with fibromyalgia?

We tested how well the existing FM2016 criteria identify people with fibromyalgia in the general population.

Find out more

EULAR recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia

A summary of the latest EULAR recommendations for pharmacological and non-drug management of fibromyalgia, based on research including group members.

Find out more

Healthcare services

Healthcare for MSK conditions during lockdown

We conducted as series of interviews with people with MSK conditions to see how lockdown had effected their access to healthcare services.

Find out more

Delivering effective care services for people with vasculitis in the UK

Vasculitis is a group of rare autoimmune conditions that cause inflammation of the blood vessels. The VOICES study set out to provide evidence of how best to deliver effective services that will improve health outcomes and experiences of care for people living with vasculitis.

Find out more

Talking therapy and health

The MAmMOTH Study found that people receiving talking therapy reported less fatigue, better sleep, lower levels of distress and a better quality of life overall.

Find out more

Inflammatory Arthritis

Talking therapy for people with axSpa and fibromyalgia

A short course of telephone CBT is likely to help improve the health of people with axSpa who also have fibromyalgia.

Find out more

axSpA, depression and response to TNF inhibitors

People with moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression, compared to people with none, responded less well to treatment with TNF inhibitors, including factors such as pain, physical function, fatigue and quality of life.

Find out more

Does daily medication affect the results of MRI scans in axial spondyloarthritis?

We gave an MRI scan to patients with axial spondyloarthritis to see it if it made a difference to the scan results whether they were taking anti-inflammatory medication.

Find out more

New approaches to improve fatigue in people with inflammatory arthritis

We interviewed therapists and patients to get their views on Cognitive-Behavioural Approach (CBA) and Personalised Exercise Programmes (PEP) designed to address fatigue in people with inflammatory rheumatic conditions.

Find out more

CBA and personalised exercise programme

Both a cognitive behavioural approach and a personalised exercise programme were shown to be effective in lessening the severity and impact of fatigue for those with inflammatory arthritis.

Find out more

How do other health conditions affect how we measure disease activity in axSpA?

We analysed registry data from the BSRBR-AS to examine how having multiple health conditions influences how disease activity is measured in people with axSpA

Find out more

Biologic therapies for people with axial spondyloarthritis

When compared with clinical trial data, fewer patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpa) respond to biologic therapy than expected.

Find out more

Spinal mobility factors in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

Certain factors can predict poor spinal mobility in axSpA patients, which can in turn predict a lower effectiveness of biologic drug therapy.

Find out more

Factors affecting fibromyalgia in patients with axSpa

Patients who develop fibromyalgia tend to have more severe axSpa symptoms, while those who recover from fibromyalgia tend to have less severe symptoms.

Find out more

Driving difficulty and work in patients with axSpa

AxSpa patients with pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression are more likely to have driving difficulty, which in turn is likely to impact on their productivity at work.

Find out more

How do other health conditions impact response to TNF inhibitors in axSpA?

We analysed registry data from the BSRBR-AS to examine how having multiple health conditions can affect treatment response to TNF inhibitor medications.

Find out more

How do biologic drugs impact the risk of developing IBD?

We investigated the potential link between being on biologic medications and the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease, using data from the BSRBR-AS.

Find out more

Work, axial spondyloarthritis and living in rural areas

For people living with axial spondyloarthritis in rural areas, their work is more affected than people living in urban environments.

Find out more

Quality of life factors for people with axial spondyloarthritis

Our study found the main factors affecting patients' quality of life were having a more active disease, and worse physical function, but a number of other factors were also important.

Find out more

Opioids and anaesthesia

Persistent opioid use in Europe

When comparing use in Europe, it was not possible to describe particular national trends, nor trends depending on the type of surgery involved, indicating more research is needed.

Find out more

Opioid use in Great Britain

A study of people who regularly use opioids in Great Britain, indicating that such use is common, and may have implications for the mortality of those taking these medications.

Find out more

Side effects of tapentadol in chronic pain patients

When comparing the risk of side effects in opioid medications, studies of the effects of tapentadol show concerns over how precise these comparisons are.

Find out more

Work and MSK / Arthritis

Work and MSK conditions in lockdown

We interviewed existing study participants to find out how lockdown had an effect on their musculoskeletal conditions and work.

Find out more

Musculoskeletal health during COVID-19 lockdown

We compared factors, including pain, fatigue, quality of life and mental health, from three previous study participants to see how their these may have been affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

Find out more

Questionnaire to measure the impact of chronic pain on work

The new WORC-PAIN questionnaire captures the fuller impact of chronic pain on paid work, covering finances, concentration, mood, and workplace support, rather than just focussing on sick days or lost productivity.

Find out more

Adapted Making it Work™ programme to support people with MSK conditions at work

We have adapted the original Canadian Making it Work™ programme to support people with a range of MSK conditions working in the UK.

Find out more

Impact of chronic pain on work

Chronic pain can have a big effect on people's work. The impact of chronic pain on work has traditionally been measured by looking at the number of sick days people take; this research seeks to examine existing measures of the impact of chronic pain on work, and important gaps which remain.

Find out more

University Home
- The Institute of Applied Health Sciences

黑料网

Research summaries

Chronic pain

Fibromyalgia

Healthcare services

Inflammatory Arthritis

Opioids and anaesthesia

Work and MSK / Arthritis