NEWS RELEASE
Woodbridge Grants and Awards

	Vancouver, British Columbia, (October 21, 1999) - The Physical Medicine
Research Foundation (PMRF) has announced awards totaling more than $250,000
for research projects aimed at preventing or improving the understanding of
whiplash-associated disorders.
	The awards are being made under The Woodbridge Grants and Awards Program.
Its purpose is to "seek innovative, multidisciplinary research projects
that could make a practical contribution to the prevention, diagnosis
and/or management of common musculoskeletal problems," according to Marc
White, executive director of the PMRF.
	Funding for the grants came from The Woodbridge Group, based in
Missisauga, Ontario, a global manufacturer of innovative polyurethane foam
products for automotive interior and occupant protection applications,
State Farm Insurance, the largest auto and homeowners insurer in the United
States and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, a
provincially-based auto insurance and driver licensing authority that is a
significant investor in innovative road and vehicle safety programs.
	The PMRF, based in Vancouver, is a charitable organization dedicated to
prevention and reduction of chronic pain and disability.
	The awards are as follows:
**  $50,000 to Rajesh Munglani, Brian L. Hazleman and Kathrin A. Stauffer
of the Pain Clinic and Rheumatology Unit, Addenbrookes Hospital, University
of Cambridge, England, for a project titled "Pulsed Radiofrequency
Treatment to the Dorsal Root Ganglia in the Treatment of Long-Standing
Whiplash-Associated Neck Pain."
	**  $50,000 to Robert Brison, Andrew Leger, William Pickett and Lisa
Hartling of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Community Health and
Epidemiology and School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Queen's University,
Kingston, Ontario.  Project title:  "A Randomized Controlled Trial to
Assess Efficacy of Early Intervention in Preventing Chronic Pain of WAD
(whiplash-associated disorders).  Patient Education Videotape."
	**  $47,815 to Donna MacIntyre, Darlene Redenbach, Hugh Anton, Donald
Lyster, R. Douglas McKnight and Roy Purssell of the School of
Rehabilitation Sciences, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
and Division of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia.
Project title:  "Assessment of Muscle Injury and Inflammation Following
Whiplash."
	**  $45,474 to Orso L. Osti, Richard T. Gun, Ajoy Shetty and Grant Taylor
of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma and Public Health,
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University of Adelaide, Australia.  Project
title:  "A Prospective Study to Identify Risk Factors Predictive of
Prolonged Recovery From Whiplash Injuries."
	**  $26,720 to Robert Brison, William Pickett, Roger Smith and David
Howse, Department of Emergency Medicine and Community Health and
Epidemiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.  Project title:  "Use
of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Study of the Nature and Severity of
Soft Tissue Injury in Persons in the Acute Injury Phase Following Rear-End
Motor Vehicle Crashes:  A Pilot Study."
**  $10,000 to Michele Curtail, B. P. Radon, S. Petersen-Felix, L.
Arendt-Nielsen, and A.M. Zbinden of the Department of Anesthesiology and
Intensive Care, Division of Pain Therapy, University Hospital of Bern,
Inselspital, Bern Switzerland.  Project title:  "Is Pain Following Whiplash
Injury Associated With Central Nervous System Hypersensitivity?"
	**  $10,000 to Allan F. Tencer, S.K. Mirza, D. Martin and V. Goodwin,
Department of Orthopaedics, University of Washington.  Project title:
"Development of a Device to Reduce Whiplash Motion of the Cervical Spine."
	**  $10,000 to Harvey D. West and Geoffrey P. Nielsen of Baker Materials
Engineering Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia.  Project title:
"Attenuating Whiplash Injury Potential."
	**  $6,028 to Gunter P. Siegmund, David Sanderson and Jeff Nickel of
MacInnis Engineering Associates and the Biomechanics Lab and School of
Human Kinetics, University of British Columbia.  Project title:  "The Role
of Neck Muscle Response in Whiplash Injuries."
	In addition, the PMRF is distributing a total of $18,000 under its
Woodbridge Award for Excellence Program, which recognizes the best research
papers arising from the recent World Congress on Whiplash-Associated
Disorders.  These awards, sponsored by the Insurance Corporation of British
Columbia, are as follows:
	**  $5,000, plus student prize of $1,000, to Pierre Cote, Institute for
Work and Health, Toronto, Ontario; David Cassidy, Institute for Health and
Outcomes Research, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Linda Carroll, Department
of Clinical Health, Royal University Hospital, Saskatchewan.  Paper title:
"Is a Lifetime History of Neck Injury in a Traffic Collision Associated
With Prevalent Neck Pain, Headache and Depressive Symptomatology?  The
Saskatchewan Health and Back Pain Survey."
	**  $5,000 to Lisa Hartling, Robert Brison and William Pickett, Department
of Emergency Medicine and Community Health and Epidemiology, Queen's
University, Kingston, Ontario.  Paper title:  "Derivation of a Clinical
Decision Rule for Whiplash-Associated Disorders Among Individuals Involved
in Rear-End Collisions."
	**  $5,000 to Judson B. Welcher and T.J. Szabo of Biomechanical Research
and Testing Inc., Newport, Beach, Calif.  Paper title:  "Relationships
Between Seat Properties and Human Subject Kinematics in Rear Impact Tests."
	**  $1,000 (student prize) to Jason E. Peebles, L. McWilliams and R.
MacLennan of the Functional Rehabilitation Program, Regina Health District
and Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Saskatchewan.  Paper
title:  "A Chronic Pain Profile By Any Other Name is Still a Chronic Pain
Profile."
	**  $1,000 (student prize) to Astrid Linder and Mats Svensson, Chalmers
University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden.  Paper title:  "A New
Mathematical Neck Model For a Low Velocity Rear-End Impact Dummy:
Evaluation of Components Influencing Head Kinematics."
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Contact: 	Marc White, Executive Director
		Physical Medicine Research Foundation
		Suite 510, 207 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V6B 1H7, Canada
		Tel: +604 684-4148,  In North America 800 872-3105
		Fax: +604 684-6247, E-mail: [log in to unmask]



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