Physiotherapists from The University of Queensland are trialling a device which could revolutionise neck pain management and bring welcome relief to those suffering from neck injuries.
The device was developed by PhD student Shaun O’Leary in conjunction with Professor Gwendolen Jull and Dr Bill Vicenzino, from the UQ Faculty of Health Sciences.
It is the first device in the world that allows physiotherapists to both accurately assess and rehabilitate the specific neck muscles affecting people with neck pain and neck related headaches.
Mr O’Leary, a musculoskeletal physiotherapist with more than 10 year’s experience, said he designed the machine to help people recover from neck injuries faster and more fully.
“Retraining neck muscles, particularly the specialised cranio-cervical muscles that move the head on the neck, is a vital part of managing neck disorders but until now there hasn’t been a way to measure and therefore rehabilitate the muscle performance adequately,” said Mr O’Leary.
“Our device allows us to take accurate measurements of neck muscle performance to determine a patient`s level of impairment. The patient can then use the device at home to perform exercises at a specific intensity tailored to their capabilities to rehabilitate their neck muscles.”
The researchers now hope to demonstrate that using their device to specifically exercise neck muscles is superior to other commonly used neck muscle rehabilitation methods.
The patented device has been licensed into Neckmetrix Pty Ltd, a start-up company formed by UQ’s main commercialisation company, UniQuest.
UniQuest Managing Director, David Henderson, said it was estimated that more than 70 per cent of people experienced neck pain at some stage in their life and at any point in time 1 in 5 people had neck pain, so the market for the Neckmetrix product was potentially large.
“Neckmetrix and UniQuest are actively seeking investors to further develop this device and speed up the entry of product in the market place,” said Mr Henderson.
Neckmetrix is recruiting volunteers to take part in the 10 week trial of the exercise device. Individuals who have been experiencing neck pain for more than three months can contact Mehwa Kim, at the UQ Physiotherapy School on 07 3365 4587.
For more information:
Julia Renaud, Corporate Development Manager, UniQuest Telephone: 07 3365 4037; Mobile: 0438 436 179 Email: j.renaud@uniquest.com.au
Mr Shaun O’Leary Telephone: 07 3365 4587 Mobile: 0407 746 299 Email:
s.oleary@shrs.uq.edu.au
