David Keene

The clinical focus of my research is on improving the management of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.  In 2017, I commenced a 4-year NIHR Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, investigating physiotherapy interventions after ankle fracture in adults aged 50 years and over (the AFTER study).  

I am currently a co-investigator on several multicentre studies, including the PATH-2 trial (Platelet Rich Plasma injections for acute Achilles tendon rupture), funded by the MRC/NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, and the Ankle Injury Management (AIM) trial (close contact casting vs surgery for ankle fracture in older adults), SPRAINED study (prognostic tool to predict poor outcome after acute ankle sprain), and the GRASP trial (2x2 factorial design, investigating corticosteroids injections and modes of physiotherapy for rotator cuff disorders), all funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme. 

After qualifying as a physiotherapist in 2003 I have worked clinically in large teaching hospitals and in primary care.  I am currently a Specialist Orthopaedic Physiotherapist and Extended Scope Practitioner at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. I was awarded an MSc in Advanced Physiotherapy from the University of Birmingham in 2011.  My DPhil, completed in 2014 at the University of Oxford, focused on the optimisation of mobility after severe ankle injury.  I am a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists and am the executive committee research lead for the Association of Trauma and Orthopaedic Chartered Physiotherapists.  With my interest in facilitating research training and evidence-based practice, I have supported internships within the group and am on the committee of the Oxfordshire hub for the Council for Allied Health Professions Research (CAHPR).