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Dr Brooke Coombes
Dr

Brooke Coombes

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Overview

Background

Dr Coombes is a senior research fellow within the NHMRC Synergy Grant, DISCERN, lead by Professor Paul Hodges. Her current role is to develop and test a tool to identify the predominant mechanism for a patient’s pain (in collaboration with the International Association for the Study of Pain Terminology Task Force) and research to understand the neurobiology of pain. As a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, Dr Coombes has clinical and research expertise in rehabilitation of musculoskeletal and chronic pain. Her research spans a diverse range of chronic conditions with a focus on exercise and physical interventions. Using a biopsychosocial framework and diverse research methodologies from mechanisms to implementation, herresearch is helping to reduce the personal, economic and societal impact of chronic pain. Dr Coombes has also developed and taught curricula in Physiotherapy, with a focus on pain, chronic disease and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy.

Availability

Dr Brooke Coombes is:
Available for supervision

Qualifications

  • Bachelor (Honours), The University of Queensland
  • Masters (Coursework), The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Graduate Certificate, Griffith University

Research interests

  • Chronic pain

    My research aims to identify mechanisms underpinning a person's pain presentation and prognosis and identifying treatments to target these mechanisms.

  • Exercise for chronic pain and chronic disease

    My research targets people with overlapping pain and chronic diseases, who are often excluded from research, such as individuals with diabetic neuropathy or parastomal hernia. It aims to optimise outcomes of exercise, via prescription, monitoring, education and behaviour change.

  • Work-related musculoskeletal disorders

    My research aims to co-develop and test feasible and scalable interventions to address work-related injury, pain or disability and promote long term work ability.

  • Injection therapies for musculoskeletal pain

    My research aims to synthesise evidence for the clinical benefits, harms and economic value of injection therapies for tendinopathy.

  • Tendinopathy

    My research aims to advance knowledge to improve management of people with persistent pain from tendon-related disorders.

Research impacts

Dr Coombes’ research has resulted in advanced understanding of the mechanisms and effective treatment of musculoskeletal disorders and chronic pain, which has been published in leading medical journals such as The Lancet, JAMA and Annals of Internal Medicine. As an example in relation to musculoskeletal pain, Dr Coombes has co-authored 5 international consensus papers on tendinopathy which have informed the establishment of core outcomes for measurement, and a significant decrease in the proportion of patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy receiving corticosteroid injections. Dr Coombes has past experience developing collaborations with other healthcare professional associations such as the national sonographic associations, who have endorsed current research projects including validation of the first sonographer-specific clinical prediction tool for work-related musculoskeletal disability and concept testing of an e-health exercise intervention to reduce work related musculoskeletal disability among sonographers. Dr Coombes also brings clinical experience to the project as a qualified Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist with extensive experience across a wide range of contexts including musculoskeletal, sports, rheumatology and occupational rehabilitation.

Works

Search Professor Brooke Coombes’s works on UQ eSpace

73 works between 2009 and 2024

61 - 73 of 73 works

2013

Journal Article

One-week time course of the effects of Mulligan's Mobilisation with Movement and taping in painful shoulders

Teys, Pamela, Bisset, Leanne, Collins, Natalie, Coombes, Brooke and Vicenzino, Bill (2013). One-week time course of the effects of Mulligan's Mobilisation with Movement and taping in painful shoulders. Manual Therapy, 18 (5), 372-377. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2013.01.001

One-week time course of the effects of Mulligan's Mobilisation with Movement and taping in painful shoulders

2013

Journal Article

Corticosteroid injection worsened recovery and recurrence of tennis elbow; physiotherapy had no effect

Vicenzino, B., Coombes, B. K., Bisset, L., Brooks, P. and Khan, A. (2013). Corticosteroid injection worsened recovery and recurrence of tennis elbow; physiotherapy had no effect. Annals of Internal Medicine, 158 (10), JC8. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-158-10-201305210-02008

Corticosteroid injection worsened recovery and recurrence of tennis elbow; physiotherapy had no effect

2013

Journal Article

Effect of corticosteroid injection, physiotherapy, or both on clinical outcomes in patients with unilateral lateral epicondylalgia: a randomized controlled trial

Coombes, Brooke K., Bisset, Leanne, Brooks, Peter, Khan, Asad and Vicenzino, Bill (2013). Effect of corticosteroid injection, physiotherapy, or both on clinical outcomes in patients with unilateral lateral epicondylalgia: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 309 (5), 461-469. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.129

Effect of corticosteroid injection, physiotherapy, or both on clinical outcomes in patients with unilateral lateral epicondylalgia: a randomized controlled trial

2013

Journal Article

Bilateral Cervical Dysfunction in Patients With Unilateral Lateral Epicondylalgia Without Concomitant Cervical or Upper Limb Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study

Coombes, Brooke K., Bisset, Leanne and Vicenzino, Bill (2013). Bilateral Cervical Dysfunction in Patients With Unilateral Lateral Epicondylalgia Without Concomitant Cervical or Upper Limb Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 37 (2), 79-86. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2013.12.005

Bilateral Cervical Dysfunction in Patients With Unilateral Lateral Epicondylalgia Without Concomitant Cervical or Upper Limb Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study

2012

Journal Article

Thermal hyperalgesia distinguishes those with severe pain and disability in unilateral lateral epicondylalgia

Coombes, Brooke K., Bisset, Leanne and Vicenzino, Bill (2012). Thermal hyperalgesia distinguishes those with severe pain and disability in unilateral lateral epicondylalgia. Clinical Journal of Pain, 28 (7), 595-601. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e31823dd333

Thermal hyperalgesia distinguishes those with severe pain and disability in unilateral lateral epicondylalgia

2012

Journal Article

Elbow flexor and extensor muscle weakness in lateral epicondylalgia

Coombes, Brooke K., Bisset, Leanne and Vicenzino, Bill (2012). Elbow flexor and extensor muscle weakness in lateral epicondylalgia. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 46 (6), 449-453. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2011.083949

Elbow flexor and extensor muscle weakness in lateral epicondylalgia

2012

Other Outputs

Corticosteroid injections and physiotherapy for lateral epicondylalgia: clinical efficacy and prognostic factors

Coombes, Brooke Kaye (2012). Corticosteroid injections and physiotherapy for lateral epicondylalgia: clinical efficacy and prognostic factors. PhD Thesis, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland.

Corticosteroid injections and physiotherapy for lateral epicondylalgia: clinical efficacy and prognostic factors

2012

Journal Article

Evidence of spinal cord hyperexcitability as measured with nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) threshold in chronic lateral epicondylalgia with or without a positive neurodynamic test

Lim, Edwin Choon Wyn, Sterling, Michele, Pedler, Ashley, Coombes, Brooke K. and Vicenzino, Bill (2012). Evidence of spinal cord hyperexcitability as measured with nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) threshold in chronic lateral epicondylalgia with or without a positive neurodynamic test. Journal of Pain, 13 (7), 676-684. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2012.04.005

Evidence of spinal cord hyperexcitability as measured with nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) threshold in chronic lateral epicondylalgia with or without a positive neurodynamic test

2011

Journal Article

Tennis elbow

Bisset, Leanne, Coombes, Brooke and Vicenzino, Bill (2011). Tennis elbow. Clinical Evidence, 2011 (6), 1117.

Tennis elbow

2010

Journal Article

Efficacy and safety of corticosteroid injections and other injections for management of tendinopathy: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Coombes, Brooke K., Bisset, Leanne and Vicenzino, Bill (2010). Efficacy and safety of corticosteroid injections and other injections for management of tendinopathy: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Lancet, 376 (9754), 1751-1767. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61160-9

Efficacy and safety of corticosteroid injections and other injections for management of tendinopathy: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials

2010

Journal Article

A single botulinum toxin injection at a precise anatomic point on the forearm reduces pain at rest, compared to placebo injection in patients with chronic refractory lateral epicondylitis

Vicenzino, Bill and Coombes, Brooke K. (2010). A single botulinum toxin injection at a precise anatomic point on the forearm reduces pain at rest, compared to placebo injection in patients with chronic refractory lateral epicondylitis. Evidence Based Medicine, 15 (5), 149-150. doi: 10.1136/ebm1115

A single botulinum toxin injection at a precise anatomic point on the forearm reduces pain at rest, compared to placebo injection in patients with chronic refractory lateral epicondylitis

2009

Journal Article

Optimising corticosteroid injection for lateral epicondylalgia with the addition of physiotherapy: A protocol for a randomised control trial with placebo comparison

Coombes, B. K., Bisset, L., Connelly, L. B., Brooks, P. and Vicenzino, B. (2009). Optimising corticosteroid injection for lateral epicondylalgia with the addition of physiotherapy: A protocol for a randomised control trial with placebo comparison. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 10 (76) 76, x-x. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-10-76

Optimising corticosteroid injection for lateral epicondylalgia with the addition of physiotherapy: A protocol for a randomised control trial with placebo comparison

2009

Journal Article

An integrative model of lateral epicondylalgia

Coombes, B. K., Bisset, L. and Vicenzino, B. (2009). An integrative model of lateral epicondylalgia. British Journal of Sport medicine, 43 (4), 1-20. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2008.052738

An integrative model of lateral epicondylalgia

Funding

Past funding

  • 2018
    Shearwave elastography to quantify impact of age, development and pathology on the neuromuscular system
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015
    Quantifying tendon elasticity using shear wave dispersion analysis in healthy and diseased tendon
    AAS - France-Australia Science Innovation Collaboration (FASIC) Program Early Career Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    Quantifying the mechanical properties of tendons to optimize treatment for tendinopathy
    UQ Postdoctoral Fellowships for Women
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Dr Brooke Coombes is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

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communications@uq.edu.au