Aron Downie

BSc, MChiro, MPhil, PhD

Senior Lecturer, Department of Chiropractic, Macquarie University, Australia

Email: aron.downie@mq.edu.au

Twitter: @aron2web

ResearchGate: Aron Downie

Aron Downie.jpg
 

Research interests and skills

  • Screening for pathology in patients with back pain

  • Patient-centered recovery from musculoskeletal pain

  • Automated and manual methods of spinal assessment

 

Ongoing research

  • Selection of therapeutic interventions in patients presenting for chiropractic care in Australia and Canada: secondary analysis of COAST and OCOAST data (CARL project with Hazel Jenkins, Aron Downie, James Young, Jessica Wong, David McNaughton, Cecile K Øverås, Eric Roseen, and Jan Hartvigsen)

  • A project centered around spinal stiffness and patient characteristics using data collected from the Spine Center of Southern Denmark (CARL project with Steen Harsted, Casper Glissmann Nim, Luana Nyirö, Aron Downie, and Greg Kawchuk)

  • Epidemiology of musculoskeletal conditions among older adults (CARL project with Eric Roseen, James Young, Jessica Wong, Cecile K Øverås, Hazel Jenkins, David McNaughton, Steen Harsted, and Aron Downie)

  • Development of a screening tool to increase clinical suspicion of cancer masquerading as low back pain based on detailed data from ~2 million patient consultations linked to a national cancer registry. This will be the first study of its kind to use a nationally representative sample.

 

Research publications

Wiggins D, Downie A, Engel R, Brown BT. Factors that influence scope of practice of the chiropractic profession in Australia: a scoping review. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. 2022;30(1).

Nim CG, Kongsted A, Downie A, Vach W. The temporal stability of self-reported visual back pain trajectories. Pain. 2022.

Jenkins HJ, Ferreira G, Downie A, Maher C, Buchbinder R, Hancock MJ. The available evidence on the effectiveness of 10 common approaches to the management of non-specific low back pain: An evidence map. Eur J Pain. 2022.

Han CS, Hancock MJ, Downie A, Jarvik JG, Koes BW, Machado GC, et al. Red flags to screen for vertebral fracture in patients presenting with low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2022;2022(7).

de Luca K, Yanz M, Downie A, Kendall J, Skou ST, Hartvigsen J, et al. A mixed-methods feasibility study of a comorbidity-adapted exercise program for low back pain in older adults (COMEBACK): a protocol. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2022;8(1):133.

Atukorala I, Downie A, Pathmeswaran A, Deveza LMA, Chang T, Zhang Y, et al. Short‐term pain trajectories in patients with knee osteoarthritis. International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases. 2022.

Nim CG, Downie A, O'Neill S, Kawchuk GN, Perle SM, Leboeuf-Yde C. The importance of selecting the correct site to apply spinal manipulation when treating spinal pain: Myth or reality? A systematic review. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):23415.

Jenkins HJ, Downie AS, Fernandez M, Hancock MJ. Decreasing thoracic hyperkyphosis – Which treatments are most effective? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice. 2021;56.

Harsted S, Nyiro L, Downie A, Kawchuk GN, O'Neill S, Holm L, et al. Posterior to anterior spinal stiffness measured in a sample of 127 secondary care low back pain patients. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). 2021;87:105408.

de Luca K, McDonald M, Montgomery L, Sharp S, Young A, Vella S, et al. COVID-19: how has a global pandemic changed manual therapy technique education in chiropractic programs around the world? Chiropr Man Therap. 2021;29(1):7.

Young A, Swain MS, Kawchuk GN, Wong AYL, Downie AS. The bench-top accuracy of the VerteTrack spinal stiffness assessment device. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. 2020;28(1):42.

Finucane LM, Downie A, Mercer C, Greenhalgh SM, Boissonnault WG, Pool-Goudzwaard AL, et al. International Framework for Red Flags for Potential Serious Spinal Pathologies. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 2020:1-23.

Downie AS, Hancock M, Abdel Shaheed C, McLachlan AJ, Kocaballi AB, Williams CM, et al. An Electronic Clinical Decision Support System for the Management of Low Back Pain in Community Pharmacy: Development and Mixed Methods Feasibility Study. JMIR Med Inform 2020;8:e17203.

Downie A, Hancock M, Jenkins H, Buchbinder R, Harris I, Underwood M, et al. How common is imaging for low back pain in primary and emergency care? Systematic review and meta-analysis of over 4 million imaging requests across 21 years. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2020;54:642.

Young A, Swain MS, Kawchuk GN, Wong AYL, Downie AS. The bench-top accuracy of the VerteTrack spinal stiffness assessment device. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2020;28:42.

Parreira PCS, Maher CG, Traeger AC, Hancock MJ, Downie A, Koes BW, et al. Evaluation of guideline-endorsed red flags to screen for fracture in patients presenting with low back pain. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2019;53:648.

Deveza LA, Downie A, Tamez-Peña JG, Eckstein F, Van Spil WE, Hunter DJ. Trajectories of femorotibial cartilage thickness among persons with or at risk of knee osteoarthritis: Development of a prediction model to identify progressors. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 2019:257-65.

Costa N, Ferreira ML, Setchell J, Makovey J, Dekroo T, Downie A, et al. A Definition of a “Flare” in Low Back Pain: A Multiphase Process Involving Perspectives of Individuals With Low Back Pain and Expert Consensus. The Journal of Pain 2019;20:1267-75.

Jenkins HJ, Downie AS, Moore CS, French SD. Current evidence for spinal X-ray use in the chiropractic profession: a narrative review. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2018;26.

Jenkins HJ, Downie AS, Maher CG, Moloney NA, Magnussen JS, Hancock MJ. Imaging for low back pain: is clinical use consistent with guidelines? A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Spine Journal 2018;18:2266-77.

French SD, Downie AS, Walker BF. Low back pain: a major global problem for which the chiropractic profession needs to take more care. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2018;26.

Verhagen AP, Downie A, Maher CG, Koes BW. Most red flags for malignancy in low back pain guidelines lack empirical support: a systematic review. Pain 2017;158:1860-8.

Brown BT, Blacke A, Carroll V, Graham PL, Kawchuk G, Downie A, et al. The comfort and safety of a novel rolling mechanical indentation device for the measurement of lumbar trunk stiffness in young adults. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2017;25.

Verhagen AP, Downie A, Popal N, Maher CG, Koes BW. Red flags presented in current low back pain guidelines: a review. European Spine Journal 2016:1-15.

Kongsted A, Kent P, Axen I, Downie AS, Dunn KM. What have we learned from ten years of trajectory research in low back pain? BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2016;17:220.

Giuriato R, Swain MS, Brown B, Downie A. A report on the Chiropractic Education Colloquium Chiropr J Aust 2016;44:284-9.

Downie AS, Hancock MJ, Rzewuska M, Williams CM, Lin CW, Maher CG. Trajectories of acute low back pain: a latent class growth analysis. Pain 2016;157:225-34.

de Luca K, Parkinson L, Downie A, Blyth F, Byles J. Three subgroups of pain profiles identified in 227 women with arthritis: a latent class analysis. Clinical Rheumatology 2016:1-10.

Swain MS, Henschke N, Kamper SJ, Downie AS, Koes BW, Maher CG. Accuracy of clinical tests in the diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament injury: a systematic review. Chiropr Man Therap 2014;22:25.

Downie A, Williams CM, Henschke N, Hancock MJ, Ostelo RW, de Vet HC, et al. Red flags to screen for malignancy and fracture in patients with low back pain. Br J Sports Med 2014;48:1518.

Swain MS, Downie A, Brown B, Lystad RP. A Commentary to Address the State of Chiropractic Research in Australia. Chiropr J Aust 2013;43:73-4.

Downie A, Williams CM, Henschke N, Hancock MJ, Ostelo RWJG, de Vet HCW, et al. Red flags to screen for malignancy and fracture in patients with low back pain: systematic review. Bmj 2013;347:f7095-f.

Štrkalj G, Beirman R, Downie A, Giuriato R, Lystad RP, Rigney C, et al. Examining the present, preparing for the future : a report on the symposium on anatomy education in chiropractic programs, held at Macquarie University. Chiropr J Aust 2012;42:139-40.

Downie AS, Vemulpad S, Bull PW. Quantifying the high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulative thrust: a systematic review. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2010;33:542-53.