Andrew J Carr

The Carr group’s research interests are primarily focused on understanding the fundamental causes of shoulder pain due to rotator cuff tendon and muscle damage and ageing with the aim of developing and translating new treatments into clinical practice. Rotator cuff tendinopathy is a very common cause of chronic pain and disability affecting around a third of the population. We have described clinical and fMRI brain imaging evidence of central pain sensitization in rotator cuff tendinopathy and osteoarthritis. With colleagues in Oxford we have invented a series of patient reported outcome measures to assess outcome after surgery. The “Oxford Scores” are now used worldwide in clinical trials and by national joint replacement registries. We lead a number of National randomized clinical trials of the surgical management of rotator cuff  tendinopathy (UKUFF and CSAW trials).

We have recently become involved in the development of novel biological scaffolds which incorporate growth factors and stem cells for use in surgical repair. Much of the work is highly interdisciplinary, and people joining the group come from a wide variety of scientific backgrounds including clinical medicine, engineering, material science, neuroscience and clinical trials. The group is based in the Botnar Research Centre and new members will usually develop a project by discussion with me, along with other members of the research team. Group members are often involved in joint projects with other laboratories and may spend periods of time working with our collaborators.