CCRF invests in evidence-based research to cost-effectively improve health outcomes for the over 11,000,000 Canadians living with musculoskeletal pain and disability.
Thanks to the generosity of our funders and our league of clinicians and private supporters, CCRF is proud to have invested over $700,000 in these research projects:
Title: Quantitative Validation of the heat capsaicin model of pain induction for the low back
Award: $28,600
Lead: Dr. Diana De Carvalho, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Impact: This study explores the validation of pain induction for the purpose of studying low back pain (LBP). It’s the first study to:
1) validate the heat-capsaicin model of pain induction in the low back
2) to compare biomarkers in the heat-capsaicin induction and sitting-induced LBP induction procedures, and
3) to compare subjective pain ratings to these objective measures. The findings of this study will provide the foundation for future LBP research for decades to come.
Title: Promotion of Physical Activity by Postpartum Women with Lumbopelvic Pain
Award: $10,000
Lead: Dr. Heather Hollman, University of Victoria
Title: What is the effect of chiropractic or physiotherapy on medical health utilization and costs in adults with low back pain? A population-based matched cohort study.
Award: $47,000
Lead: Dr. Jessica Wong, Doctoral Candidate, Epidemiology Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Impact: This is the first study to assess the effects of chiropractic and physiotherapy on medical care utilization costs in Canada. This research leverages novel data that captures all medical encounters and direct person-level costs over a 15-year period in a population-based sample of Ontario adults with back pain.
Title: The role of sensitization and sensorimotor integration in understanding the biological basis of Chiropractic
Award: $26,600
Lead: Nicolas Antony, Ontario Tech University
Title: The clinical course of spinal pain in adolescents: a feasibility study
Partial Award: $20,000
Lead: Dr. Michael Swain, Macquarie University, Parker University
Impact: This study will provide better understanding of adolescent patients with MSK pain and is an essential first step to conducting a definitive clinical cohort study on this important but under researched group. It will break new ground in the recruitment and follow up of young people seeking care and lead to new care models for early-on episodes of spinal pain that may inform preventative efforts to reduce the impact of chronic-recurrent spinal pain later in life. Testing will be done by multi-site team of collaborators in Canada and the United States.
Status: Awarded $63,000
Title: The Effect of Cervical Spinal Manipulation on Brain Functional Connectivity Using Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain
Lead: Dr. Felipe Duarte, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College
Purpose: To track neuroplastic effects of a single cervical spinal manipulation – and SMT applied over time – on functional connectivity in the brains of patients with chronic neck pain.
Impact: This is the first FMRI study of its kind on the cervical spine which will provide important data needed to fill gaps in current knowledge. It’s also the first study that will measure both short and long-term effects of SMT on brain function and how these neuroplastic effects might change over time. This evidence may lead to a significant increase in credibility for the chiropractic profession.
Status: Awarded $10,000
Title: Advancing the conceptualization and assessment of pain-related suffering
Lead: Dr. Peter Stilwell, McGill University
Purpose: To develop research supported understanding of pain-related suffering associated with MSK conditions and identify gaps in the way current literature defines and grades pain related problems.
Impact: This study seeks to discover how patients feel their suffering is prioritized by practitioners. This will lead to a better understanding of people with painful MSK issues, address gaps related to the assessment of pain-related suffering and improve the patient experience during the initial assessment and treatment.
Status: Awarded $44,000
Title: The Association of Chiropractic Integration with Opioid Use for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain in an Ontario Health Care Centre: A Mixed Methods Study.
Lead: Dr. Peter Emary, McMaster University, Departments of Health Research Methodology; Michael J. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care
Purpose: To examine the relationship between chiropractic integration and opioid use among vulnerable patients in a Community Health Centre (CHC).
Impact: This study directly addresses one of the country’s most pressing public health crises – opioid addiction. It’s the first study of its kind to track whether the receipt of chiropractic services can reduce opioid use among patients already using prescription opioids. It also seeks to identify improvements in quality of life and other qualitative areas that may prove unique to chiropractic intervention and help validate outcomes seen in practice.
Status: Awarded $16,000
Title: Tracking the impact of clinical care among patients with chronic lower back pain: the utility of performance-based measures of physical function and impairment
Leads: Dr. Sheilah Hogg-Johnson, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College
Purpose: To determine how specific performance-based measures correlate with disability reported by patients with chronic lower back pain.
Impact: The goal of this study is to determine whether patient assessments can be improved by adding function tests to questionnaires and to see if changes perceived by patients are supported by functional changes. This will help chiropractors assess patients more effectively and improve patient satisfaction. This team includes high level female investigators and is an international (Danish) collaboration.
Status: Awarded $5,000
Title: Is there a correlation between NMSK disorders and breast pain in breast feeding mothers seeking chiropractic care: A case series
Lead: Dr. Chantale Doucet, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Purpose: To investigate the association between nipple pain and MSK dysfunction
Impact: The biomechanics of breastfeeding and post partum body changes are areas in need of research. In addition to providing much needed data for chiropractors and the profession, this study addresses a broader issue beyond MSK and will lay critical groundwork for future studies and trials.
Status: Awarded $52,000
Title: Is a funded, integrated pathway for low back pain a feasible way to shift health resource utilization from low value to high value care?
Lead: Dr. Greg Kawchuk, University of Alberta
Purpose: This study seeks to compare a pathway of evidence-based treatment for patients with lower back pain against the standard of usual care.
Impact: Governments and health insurance companies spend a significant amount of money on treatment for patients with chronic lower back pain. This study seeks to discover whether providing evidence-based treatments resolves patient’s issues more effectively and reduces their cost of care.
Status: In Progress
Title: Reducing wait times, opioid prescriptions and imaging rates for acute and chronic spine pain patients: A university-hospital based chiropractic clinic implementation project.
Goals:
1) Determine potential barriers to managing spine pain patients without opioid medication and spine imaging prescriptions;
2) the factors related to referring these patients to hospital-based chiropractic care
3) to evaluate the impact of knowledge translation (KT) interventions combined with guideline informed chiropractic care on reducing ED and SAC opioid medication and diagnostic imaging prescriptions, ED wait-time, and patient health outcomes.
Chief Investigator: Dr. Steven Passmore Hons BKin, MS, DC, PhD
Award: $250,000 CAD over 3 years
Status: In Progress
Title: Understanding health care utilization for musculoskeletal disorders and disability in Canada: A population-based perspective.
Goals:
1) Determine which health care providers Canadians consult to manage MSK pain
2) describe the characteristics of Canadians who consult different types of health providers for MSK disorders and disability.
Chief Investigator: Dr. Pierre Côté, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University, and Centre for Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation at OTU and CMCC
Award: $59,548 CAD
Status: In Progress
Title: Advancing Patient Safety for Special Populations: Active Surveillance Reporting to Identify Adverse Events Following Chiropractic Care in Older Adults
Goal: This 3-part study will investigate changes in symptoms reported by older adults receiving chiropractic care, with a focus on safety.
Chief Investigators: Dr. Martha Funabashi BSc, MSc, PhD Clinical Research Scientist and Assistant Professor CMCC, Toronto, Ontario and Dr. Katharine Pohlman, Director of Research, Parker University, Dallas, Texas, USA
Award: $50,000 CAD
Status: In Progress
Title: Operationalizing ‘whole person’ pain care
Goal: To develop practical evidence-based resources, including a collection of whole patient care principles, themes, and strategies clinicians can use when interacting with their patients experiencing pain.
Chief Investigator: Dr. Peter Stilwell, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Award: $25,000 CAD
2000 to 2017
