Physiotherapy

The main scope of Physiotherapy is to understand how movement, e.g. physical activity and purposive motor control, contribute to health and participation in everyday life and society. Our research is characterised by the integration of physiotherapy and behavioural medicine. We are looking for answers about the possibility to increase the effects of physiotherapy by defining the goals for physiotherapy treatments in terms of health-related behaviours. As a consequence we  integrate learning theory with etiology, movement and exercise theory when developing and studying the effects of new treatments. Research on how biological, psychological and social variables interact during development of disease and redovery is vital. Further, we study the complex  interaction of bio-psycho-social variables and their impact on physical activity, activities of daily living including work, and quality of life in persons being struck by a disease or a chronic condition.

The group members altogether cover a wide range of methodological skills and experiences,  ranging from qualitative studies and cohort studies to randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses. An explicit goal is to develop solid research lines regarding clinical intervention research within Physiotherapy.

The research group is multidisciplinary including teachers, researchers, and PhD-students from Uppsala university and the University Hospital of Uppsala. The members are organised into three research areas: 1) Behavioural medicine and pain, 2) Cardio-pulmonary health, 3) Neurorehabilitation and elderly health.

The Physiotherapy group hosts the multidisicplinary research programme U-PAIN, which aims to develop new methods for pain diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation for persons suffering from chronic pain. The programme is a collaboration between the Department of neuroscience and The Pain Centre at Uppsala University Hospital.

You can find ongoing projects from the Physiotherapy group, underneath relevant research area in the left margin.

Head of research
Pernilla Åsenlöf
e-mail: pernilla.asenlof@neuro.uu.se