Community Noticeboard - Health and Wellbeing

MARC

Volunteers needed for a chronic pain study

Do you suffer from chronic pain? Do you use opioid medications to help relieve the pain?

RMIT University is conducting a clinical trial evaluating the potential benefits of acupuncture for reducing opioid medications.

To be eligible, participants must meet the following criteria:
  • Suffered from musculoskeletal pain (such as neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, knee pain and hip pain) for more than three months;
  • Have been using opioid medications for pain control for more than two months – including but not limited to codeine, tramadol, morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, and methadone, in any form;
  • Want to reduce the use of opioid medications; and
  • Are able to converse and read simple instructions in English.

Participants will be randomly allocated to receive real electroacupuncture, fake electroacupuncture or no acupuncture, in addition to Pain and Medication Management advice provided by pain specialists.

At the end of the trial, those allocated to the no-acupuncture group will have the opportunity to receive electroacupuncture treatment for 10 weeks. The treatment is free. This multi-centre trial is conducted at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Caulfield Hospital, Sunshine Hospital, RMIT University and some clinics in the Geelong area.

For more information or eligibility:

National Ride2School Day

The sixth annual National Ride2School Day is on Friday, 23 March 2012.

Aimed at promoting more active ways of getting to school, last year’s event attracted more than 140,000 children, many of whom were riding to their classroom for the first time.

Make sure your school's registered by going to www.ride2school.com.au.

Have you had a stroke or been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?

Do you care for someone who has had a stroke or been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?

Stroke and Parkinson’s disease (PD), affects an individual’s health, functioning and social participation. Social, cultural, economic and geographic factors influence how people adjust to life after a stroke or PD diagnosis.

They also have profound effects on their caregivers, who are often close family members. This project seeks to explore the experiences of caregivers; it also examines what factors might impact upon family adjustment and whether this changes over time.

This project seeks to explore the experiences of people who have experienced one of these conditions; it also examines what factors might impact upon individual and family adjustment, and whether this changes over time.

People who have had a stroke in the last 3 years or who have ever been diagnosed with PD are invited to participate. Participants should be Australian-born of European descent or from an Indian cultural background, and should reside in Victoria.

Each participant will be invited to participate in 4 interviews over a 2-year period; each interview will last less than 1 hour. If you consent, you will also be requested to undertake a small photographic exercise. Participants will be given a small gift in appreciation of their time.

If you might be interested in participating and would like to learn more about the study, please contact Darshini Ayton, School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University on 03 9903 1660 or via email at Darshini.Ayton@monash.edu

Hip and Groin Pain Research

The University of Melbourne, Physiotherapy Department is currently seeking volunteers who suffer from hip and groin pain for research.

Participants if successful will attend a physiotherapy clinic in either Brighton or Mulgrave for 10 visits at no cost.

To be eligible you must be over 50 years old, have not had recent hip or knee surgery and have hip or groin pain on most days.

Enquires Ph: Joel Martin (03) 8344 0426, Email: marti@unimelb.edu.au. To find out more visit: www.physioth.unimelb.edu.au/chesm/hipoarct.html

Health and Wellbeing

Page top

Last updated: 7 February 2012

[ Up: Community Noticeboard  |   Forward: Library Activities ]

Back to main navigation Back to section navigation