Edel O’Hagan
RESEARCHER PROFILE
PhD Candidate
Edel O’Hagan is an experienced clinical physiotherapist and early career researcher. Her clinical career over 15 years has included roles in the public and private settings in Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Edel completed her Research Masters at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Sydney in 2016 with Dr James McAuley and Dr Markus Huebscher. Edel’s research includes the first systematic review of hypnotics for postoperative pain, which identified that hypnotics should be considered for the management of postoperative pain. She completed a cohort study which has shown that reduced slow wave sleep (SWS) is associated with subsequent high pain intensity and worse sleep quality for the same night. She conducted a pilot randomised controlled trial of a hypnotic for acute low back pain which identified recruitment barriers to address in a large trial.
Edel’s research has presented at national (APS) and major international conferences (International Low Back and Neck Pain Forum, International Association for the Study of Pain).
Her more recent research concerns the attitudes and beliefs of health care professionals and the general public toward treatment selection in patients presenting with low back pain.
Edel is a part of the organising committee for SPRiNG, Sydney Pain Researchers: the Next Generation.
Follow Edel’s work below and here: Google Scholar and ORCID.
Projects Edel O’Hagan is currently involved with
CURRENT PROJECTS
BOOST – Repetitive transcranial magnetic simulation to bolster analgesic effects of quadriceps str
Osteoarthritis affects more than 20% of Australians aged over 60. The knee joint is commonly affected, causing persistent pain and difficulty in daily activities. Although exercise is the cornerstone of conservative treatment for knee osteoarthritis and recommended in all international guidelines, its effects are, at best, moderate.
BOOST is a ‘proof of concept’ study to explore the use of a novel intervention combining non-invasive brain stimulation and exercise therapy in people with knee osteoarthritis. This intervention applies repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, a safe and painless non-invasive brain stimulation, targeting specifically the brain region involved in pain processing and motor function to enhance the effects of exercise therapy.
The study might be a good fit for you if you:
- Are aged ≥ 50 years with knee osteoarthritis.
- Have knee pain for more than 3 months and on most days of the past month.
- Have average pain intensity higher than 4 out 10 in the past week.
- Do not have previous knee joint replacement or high tibial osteotomy.
- Do not knee surgery or joint injection in past 6 months.
- Do not have planned surgery in the next 9 months.
- Do not use oral corticosteroids currently or in the past 4 weeks.
- Do not have systemic arthritis, previous knee fracture or malignancy.
- Do not have other condition affecting lower limb function.
- Do not participate in knee strengthening exercise in past 6 months.
- Do not have a loss of sensation of the affected leg.
- Do not have neurological or psychiatric disorders.
- Do not have contraindications to brain stimulation such as epilepsy, metal implant in the skull.
- Do not use neuroactive drugs.
If you are eligible and agree to participate, you will be asked to attend 2 sessions per week for 6 weeks (each session includes 15 minutes of active or sham brain stimulation plus 30 minutes one-to-one exercise by a physiotherapist); 2 testing sessions (about 1.5 hours per session) before the start and after the completion of the intervention. All sessions will take place in a laboratory at NeuRA.
If you would like more information or are interested in being part of the study, please contact:
Name: Dr Wei-Ju Chang
Email: w.chang@neura.edu.au
Phone: 02 9399 1260
Like to see if you’re eligible? Click here
This research is being funded by the ANZMUSC Clinical Trial Network.
READ MORE
BOOST – Repetitive transcranial magnetic simulation to bolster analgesic effects of quadriceps strengthening exercise in knee osteoarthritis
Medicines for Back Pain
Medicines are the most common treatment for back pain. The aim of this program of research is to improve our understanding of the clinical effects of medicines.
Studies currently in progress:
- Scoping review of paracetamol, NSAIDs and opioid analgesics for chronic low back pain (led by Matthew K Bagg). The objective of this study is to identify and describe the characteristics of available clinical trials of commonly used analgesic medicines for chronic low back pain. This information will inform the design and conduct of other studies in the research program.
- Paracetamol, NSAIDs and opioid analgesics for chronic low back pain: a network meta-analysis (led by Matthew K Bagg). The objective of this study is to produce information about the clinical effects of available analgesic medicines for chronic low back pain. This information will be available in a Cochrane review to assist clinical prescription of medicines. The protocol is published and available here.
- Prescribing practices of medicines for adults with low back pain: a systematic review (led by Michael Wewege). The objective of this study is to determine how different medicines are prescribed to adults with low back pain and how this differs across countries. The protocol for this study is being developed.
- Analgesic medicines for adults with low back pain: a network meta-analysis (led by Michael Wewege). The objective of this study is to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of a range of analgesic medicines for adults across different classifications of low back pain. The protocol for this study has been submitted for publication.
- Muscle relaxant medicines for low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis (led by Aidan Cashin and Thiago Folly). The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness and tolerability of muscle relaxant medicines for adults with low back pain. The protocol is available here.
- Novel biologic medicines for low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis (led by Rodrigo Rizzo). The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness and tolerability of novel biologic medicines for adults with low back pain. The protocol is available here.
Completed studies:
- Evaluation of the impact of unpublished data from clinical trial registries on the effects of medicines for low back pain (led by Matthew Bagg). The objective of this study was to evaluate whether there is a difference between clinical trial data that are published and those that are not published. The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology.
- Antidepressant medicines for low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis (led by Michael Ferraro). The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness and tolerability of antidepressant medicines for adults with low back pain. The findings have been submitted for publication. The protocol is available here.
Medicines for Back Pain – Publications:
- Bagg MK, McLachlan AJ, Maher CG, Kamper SJ, Williams CM, Henschke N, Wand BM, Moseley GL, Hübscher M, O’Connell NE, van Tulder MW, Nikolakopoulou A, McAuley JH. (2018). Paracetamol, NSAIDS and opioid analgesics for chronic low back pain: a network meta-analysis [Protocol]. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 6. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013045. PMCID: PMC6513465
- Bagg MK, O’Hagan E, Zahara P, Wand BM, Hübscher M, Moseley GL, McAuley JH. (2020). Reviews may overestimate the effectiveness of medicines for back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. doi: 10.1016/ j.jclinepi.2019.12.006. PMID: 31816418
Medicines for Back Pain – Registrations of Study Protocols:
- Folly T, Bagg MK, Wewege M, Ferraro MC, Schabrun S, Gustin SM, Day R, McAuley JH. (2019) UMbRELLA: Understanding efficacy and safety of Muscle RELaxant medicines for Low back pain – systematic Literature review and meta-Analysis (protocol).Open Science Framework, available at: https://osf.io/xuw5h
- Rizzo RN, Bagg MK, Ferraro MC, Wewege M, Cashin A, Leake HB, O’Hagan E, Jones M, McAuley JH. (2020). Efficacy and safety of medicines targeting neurotrophic factors in the management of low back pain: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. Open Science Framework, available at: https://osf.io/zax6d
- Ferraro MC, Bagg MK, McAuley JH. (2019). RADICAL: Systematic Review of Anti-Depressant Medicines if Considered Analgesics for Low Back Pain (protocol). Open Science Framework, available at: https://osf.io/cedm3
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Medicines for Back Pain
Social Media for Low Back Pain
Social media is a potentially powerful tool to provide a message of education and reassurance to the general public about low back pain. This project will use social media to educate the general public about low back pain and promote self-management.
The project involves three stages. Firstly, we will conduct a content analysis to gain an insight into social media users’ perceptions and understanding about low back pain. This could determine whether social media could serve as an educational tool through which accurate information related to low back pain could be disseminated to the public.
Second, a recent Delphi survey of 150 low back pain researchers identified 30 key messages considered to be important for the general public to know about LBP. These statements provide evidence-based information on the diagnosis, prognosis and management of LBP and are intended to educate, reassure and promote self-management. We will investigate the attitude of the general public towards these messages.
Third, working in conjunction with a media company Y&R, we will design and test a social media campaign to encourage self-management for people with low back pain.
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Social Media for Low Back Pain
RESOLVE Trial for Chronic Low Back Pain
For people with long term back pain that is not getting better. We are testing two pain treatment programs that target the brain, for people with chronic low back pain.READ MORE
RESOLVE Trial for Chronic Low Back Pain
SLEEPain
For people with back pain who are having trouble with their sleep. We are testing whether a simple sleep tablet will help people reduce their pain and sleep better.READ MORE
SLEEPain
PAIN REVOLUTION
SPRING SOCIAL
SYDNEY SCIENCE FESTIVAL- BEHIND THE BRAINS
SELF-MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS TO LOWER BACK PAIN, NEURA NEWSLETTER 2020
RESEARCH TEAM
YANNICK GILANYI Honours Student : y.gilanyi@neura.edu.au
BRISHNA SHAH Honours Student : b.shah@neura.edu.au
JACK DEVONSHIRE Research Assistant : j.devonshire@neura.edu.au
HARRISON HANSFORD Doctoral Candidate : h.hansford@neura.edu.au
THIAGO FOLLY Research Assistant
ANIKA HAIGH Research Assistant : a.haigh@neura.edu.au
PAULINE ZAHARA Clinical Trial Manager
DR IAN SKINNER Postdoctoral Research Fellow
PUBLICATIONS
What do patients value learning about pain? A mixed-methods survey on the relevance of target concepts after pain science education.
Leake HB, Moseley GL, Stanton TR, O'Hagan ET, Heathcote LC
What do people post on social media relative to low back pain? A content analysis of Australian data.
O'Hagan ET, Traeger AC, Bunzli S, Leake HB, Schabrun SM, Wand BM, O'Neill S, Harris IA, McAuley JH
Low back pain is the leading contributor to the global disability burden. The Global Spine Care Initiative (GSCI) recommend patient-centred care to stem the cost of low back pain. One way to enhance patient-centred care is by better understanding what is relevant for people with low back pain. Exploring social media posts about low back pain could offer this insight and provide valuable information for health care professionals to facilitate active participation in patient-centred care. Posts about low back pain on social media often seem to suggest that the person posting is seeking validation. Responses typically express sympathy or a shared experience; yet, there is no response to most social media posts about low back pain.
Reassurance for patients with non-specific conditions - a user's guide.
Traeger AC, O'Hagan ET, Cashin A, McAuley JH
Targeted reassurance, including enhanced, prognosis-specific education, could optimize reassurance and possibly prevent disabling symptoms.