Sarah Harrisson

Biography

Sarah trained as a physiotherapist at Kings College London, graduating in 2000 and has worked in a variety of health sectors including the NHS, the British Armed Forces, and the private sector. 

Sarah has a clinical interest in pain management and has worked as a clinical specialist in this area since 2008.

She completed a Masters in Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy in 2006 (University College London) and a Post-graduate Certificate in Public Health (University of Birmingham) in 2013 and a PhD (Keele University) in 2018.

In 2019, she was appointed as a Research Associate in Applied Health Research at Keele University.

She continues to work clinically, working as a Specialist Pain Physiotherapist with the IMPACT Community Pain Service (Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) in Stoke-on-Trent.

She is a member of the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (MACP) and the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). 

Research and scholarship

Sarah's doctoral studies were supported by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Doctoral Fellowship funded through an NIHR Professorship for Nadine Foster (NIHR-RP-011-015). This fellowship supported Sarah to complete a PhD investigating the epidemiology of neuropathic pain in patients with low back-related leg pain. This work combined systematic review methods with epidemiological study of the characteristics and prognosis of this group of patients, with a view to better inform methods to match patients treatment. 

She is currently working with a research team on a project investigating the trends of gabapentinoid prescribing in UK primary care and on a project funded to develop a new way of supporting patients living with persistent pain to reduce the regular use of opioid medications when they are of no clear benefit (the PROMPPT study). 

Teaching

Sarah is involved in the teaching of medical students (MBChB SSC Quantitative Research Methods and MBChB Public Health) and postgraduate students (MSc Neuromusculoskeletal Healthcare). She facilitates on practical aspects of the PROGRESS Summer School in prognosis research (concepts, methods and clinical application). 

Thesis