$10,000 Section on Women's Health Grant Awarded for Research on Techniques to Reduce Chronic Caesarian Section Scar Pain
Jun 14, 2016
Assistant professor Jennifer Wasserman DPT, MS, Ph.D. candidate, is the 2016 winner of a $10,000 research grant to further study treatments for chronic Caesarian Section scar pain. The Section on Women’s Health (SOWH), a professional organization affiliated with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), awards the grant to one applicant annually to research on bettering men’s and women’s health through physical therapy.
Professor Wasserman’s project started as a small pilot study with several DPT students from the Class of 2015. She and her students presented the course project at the national APTA Combined Sections Meeting in February 2015.
“To see this course project evolve from a poster presentation at the APTA conference to a publication in a peer reviewed journal has been exciting for all of us – faculty, students and alumni,” says Olga McSorley, director of clinical education and assistant professor of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Franklin Pierce University. “Learning that Dr. Wasserman has received this grant and will be able to build upon the work of our alumni while completing her PhD dissertation research is above and beyond what any of us, especially Jenny, expected.”
Drs. Karen Abraham, Mary Massery, and Beth Marcoux will serve as Wasserman’s investigator team, focusing on “Fascial Scar Mobilization Techniques in Treating Chronic Caesarian Section Scar Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.”
“Being recognized for her desire to research methods that may help women with chronic scar pain from C-sections is a tremendous honor and evidence that the work we do in our classrooms and labs can have a significant impact on the profession and society as a whole,” says McSorley.
The Section has awarded research grants totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars during the past 16 years. The grant funding and project length run August 1, 2016, to July 30, 2017.
“The Section on Women’s Health is pleased to continue its long tradition of financially supporting evidence-based physical therapy research in the areas of women’s and men’s health,” says Meryl Alappattu, PT, DPT, Ph.D. “We congratulate Dr. Wasserman and her team for their vision and commitment to reducing pain in women post-partum. We also thank the other grant candidates and encourage their continued efforts to expand much-needed research in this important specialized physical therapy area.”
Wasserman will also receive an award plaque at the 2017 SOWH Business Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, in February.
