Bournemouth University (BU) and University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) won the prestigious Research Team Impact Prize from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) for their CHAIN programme, which supports people with hip osteoarthritis through group-based education and static cycling.
Tom Wainwright, Professor of Orthopaedics at BU and Consultant Physiotherapist at UHD, said: “Being recognised for this award is testament to the hard work that BU clinical academics, researchers and UHD NHS clinicians have done over the last 10 years to bring this programme to the community.”
Launched in 2013, the programme was designed for patients with hip osteoarthritis.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) have awarded Bournemouth University (BU) and University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) with a ‘Research Team Impact Prize’ for their community cycling against hip pain programme (Image: Bournemouth University)
It offers an eight-week course of weekly education and cycling sessions delivered in partnership with BH Live Active at their Littledown leisure centre.
Unlike standard one-to-one physiotherapy, the CHAIN programme uses group sessions, allowing more patients to participate at once and reducing costs.
The NIHR praised the programme for improving hip function and supporting long-term self-management.
Of those who took part, 57 per cent had not pursued surgery following the programme.
Dr Peter Wilson, Chief Medical Officer at UHD, said: “We are an ageing population and increasingly we are seeing more patients with osteoarthritis that need either surgery or physiotherapy.
“This NIHR award recognises that alternative treatments, like the CHAIN programme, can make a real difference to patient outcomes, as well as reduce physiotherapy waiting times and financial demand on NHS services.”