Dr Amy Miller

Biography

Amy graduated from Health Sciences University with a MSc Chiropractic qualification in 2016. Following this, she received a grant to complete research in the Interprofessional Feeding Clinic, which is a collaborative clinic between Health Sciences University and Bournemouth University. Amy then embarked on a PhD at Bournemouth University, which allowed her to continue her research in the Interprofessional Feeding Clinic.

Amy completed her PhD in the summer of 2021, when she joined Health Sciences University as a lecturer.

Current Activity

Amy is leading the UK arm of the COURSE Study, an international initiative investigating the clinical course of spinal pain in adolescents. The study has been funded by the Royal College of Chiropractors, and is the first step in a larger international body of work aiming to better understand spinal pain in this age group, with a view to improving its management. Currently, we know that adolescents with persistent spinal pain are likely to become adults with persistent spinal pain, and that spinal pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide. What we don’t know is how we can change this trajectory, and this is a major focus of this body of work. You can read more about the COURSE Study and the study lead Dr Michael Swain here, and other member of the study team, Dr Michelle Holmes, here.

Continuing this work into adolescent musculoskeletal health, Amy is leading a project to set up a Young Persons Advisory Group (YPAG) for musculoskeletal conditions in adolescents. This project has Knowledge Exchange funding and is being run in collaboration with Participation People, an award-winning organisation who facilitate youth participation projects. The purpose of the YPAG will be to involve young people in the design of research projects and health services focused on adolescent musculoskeletal health, ensuring that they are ‘youth-proof’ and relevant to the young people involved. This collaborative approach between young people, researchers, and clinicians is one of the first of its kind in musculoskeletal care and research.

With Dr Michelle Holmes, Amy has also worked on the CRUNCh study, developing recommendations for a new chiropractic Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) in the UK. This has involved interviewing a wide range of stakeholders, including chiropractors, researchers, and leaders in the profession and in education, and conducting a realist review of PBRNs. The data from these are being used in the design and implementation of this new PBRN.