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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 479 5235
Email
cathy.chapple@otago.ac.nz
Position
Associate Professor, Dean of the School of Physiotherapy
Qualifications
PhD M Manip Phty PGrad Dip Manip Phty BSc(Hons) Grad Dip Phty
Research summary
Osteoarthritis, physiotherapy management of musculoskeletal conditions, manual therapy
Teaching
  • Musculoskeletal and Manual Physiotherapy
  • Clinical skills / Patient-centred care
  • Undergraduate and Postgraduate teaching
  • PhD / masters’ / honours research supervision
Memberships
  • International Federation Of Manual and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists (IFOMPT) - New Zealand representative
  • New Zealand Manual and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists (NZMMP) - Executive Committee
  • Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)
  • Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ)
  • Centre for Health Activity and Rehabilitation Research (CHARR)
  • Pain at Otago Research Theme
Clinical
  • Manual and musculoskeletal physiotherapy
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Delivery of physiotherapy care

Research

My main research focus is on the physiotherapy management of osteoarthritis (OA), particularly knee OA. I have conducted several clinical trials for people with knee OA to explore manual therapy and various forms of exercise therapy, including exploring delivery of care. Recently completed trials include:

  • Investigating frequency of manual therapy for people with knee OA: the Opti-OK trial
  • The AP-KO feasibility trial: Combining Anti-inflammatories and Physiotherapy for people with Knee OA – a double-blind randomised controlled trial

Current research focus is on teaching spinal manipulation to undergraduate physiotherapy students and promoting translation from classroom to clinical practice.

Additional details

I supervise PhD, masters’ and honours students, and welcome enquiries from prospective research students interested in the management of people with OA, manual therapy/physiotherapy for musculoskeletal conditions, and delivery of physiotherapy services for people with musculoskeletal conditions.

Recently completed PhD student topics

  • Exploring the initial effect of mobilisation with movement on shoulder range of motion and pain intensity in patients with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain: Dr Sizhong Wang
  • Mechanisms of Manual Therapy: Differential Modulation the Stress Response: Dr Gerard Farrell
  • The clinical features and application of acupoint sensitization in the management of chronic low back pain: Dr Huijuan Tan

Publications

Bühler, M., Chapple, C., Stebbings, S., & Baxter, G. D. (2026). High dose soft orthosis for thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis in addition to best practice usual care: A feasibility randomised controlled trial. Hand Therapy. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/17589983261444954 Journal - Research Article

Chapple, C., Samaranayaka, A., Widyastuti, N., Pryymachenko, Y., Wilson, R., & Abbott, H. (2025, October). Frequency of manual therapy for people with knee osteoarthritis: The Opti-OK trial. Verbal presentation at the Australian Physiotherapy Association Scientific Conference (APASC): Lead the Physiotherapy Evolution, Adelaide, Australia. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Chapple, C. (2025, August). Manual therapy for the knee: Techniques to enhance your routine care. Physiotherapy New Zealand Otago Branch Education Day: Knee Study Day, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Research Presentation]. Other Research Output

Alam, S., Hargest, C., Ribeiro, D. C., & Chapple, C. M. (2025). The effect of physiotherapy interventions on biomechanical outcomes of gait in people with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review & meta-analysis. Physical Therapy Reviews. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/10833196.2025.2521893 Journal - Research Article

Alam, S., Hargest, C., Ribeiro, D. C., Mani, R., & Chapple, C. (2025). Effect of manual therapy on gait biomechanics in people with knee osteoarthritis: A protocol. New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, 53(1), (pp. S16-S17). doi: 10.15619/ncjp.v53i1.478 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

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