Transforming care for musculoskeletal pain: Impact through Partnership

Professor Karen McCreesh, President's Research Excellence and Impact, Early Career Researcher Consolidator Award Winner 2025

In this episode, we hear from Professor Karen McCreesh, Professor of Physiotherapy at the School of Allied Health, a Member of the Ageing Research Centre and the Health Research Institute at the University of Limerick. Karen discusses her research, which is driven by the goal of transforming care for people with musculoskeletal pain, particularly shoulder pain and chronic pain, by advancing effective, non-surgical treatment options. This work has provided new insights into the mechanisms and treatment of shoulder pain, along with deeper insights into the lived experiences of people with pain. 

Karen is joined by Martina Phelan, Chairperson of Chronic Pain Ireland and Ryan Meaney, Physical Activity for Health Officer, Limerick Sports Partnership, who are collaborators on Karen’s most recent research project: The “Community Based exercise for chronic pain” COM EX. This study focused on providing group exercise classes, tailored to the needs of older adults living with chronic pain, in their own communities.  Listen to the impact of the research, the learnings and hear from the collaborators about their positive experience, shaping future research with exercise projects.