Tissue damage is neither necessary nor sufficient for pain. The more we learn about pain the more this becomes apparent, most significantly when we consider the 20% of people for whom quality of life is reduced by a chronic pain problem. I undertake studies that aim to increase our understanding of why things hurt, why things keep hurting and how we can better prevent and manage chronic pain in the community. There are several themes to this research. One investigates how our brain makes us feel things in our body and how we can change those feelings. Another investigates how changes that occur in the central nervous system when pain persists can be targeted by treatment. Another investigates whether or not such treatments actually work, in the real world.
Dr Lorimer Moseley is a clinical scientist investigating pain in humans. Lorimer joined POWMRI from The University of Oxford, UK, where he was Nuffield Medical Research Fellow in the PaIN group, Department of Clinical Neurology, and Senior Fellow in the GAMFI Centre, Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics. He has published 60 papers, two books (Explain Pain (2003), noigroup publications; Painful yarns. Stories & metaphors to help understand the biology of pain (2007); Dancing Giraffe Press; www.noigroup.com) and several book chapters. He has given over 100 keynote or invited presentations at interdisciplinary meetings in 17 countries and has provided professional education in pain sciences to over 3500 medical and health practitioners. He consults to governmental and industry bodies in Europe and North America on pain-related issues. He was recently named the outstanding mid-career clinical scientist working in a pain-related field by the International Association for the Study of Pain (www.iasp-pain.org).
How can other senses be used to modulate pain?A series of studies in people with experimentally induced and clinical pain (ie patients with pain) in which we attempt to modulate pain via visual and tactile input. |
Towards better prevention and management of complex regional pain syndromeA series of studies aimed at developing better treatments for this disabling and painful disease. |
Why do some people not recover from wrist fracture?A series of studies leading to validation of a predictive model for the development of complex regional pain syndrome after fracture. |
