Dr Matthew Jones

Fields of research: Exercise Physiology, Human Movement and Sports Science

Contact Details

Phone: (02) 9348 0032
Email: matthew.jones@unsw.edu.au

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I am an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health. I was awarded my PhD from UNSW Sydney in 2017. My clinical and research expertise concerns the role of exercise for the management of chronic pain and chronic fatigue.

University role:

Lecturer

Grants:

2018: Investigating the association between fatigue and pain, and the factors that influence them, in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (Mason Foundation, $98,000)
2018: What are Exercise Physiologists saying? – Developing targeted pain neuroscience education to improve exercise outcomes for knee osteoarthritis (ESSA Tom Penrose Grant, $6,000)
2018-2019: An integrated model in improving frailty (SPHERE Age and Ageing CAG Seed Funding, $100,000)

Awards:

2020: Faculty of Medicine Education Award for Excellence in Innovation (Team - Exercise Physiology Practicum)
2020: Faculty of Medicine Education Award for Excellence in Innovation (Team - UNSW Lifestyle Clinic Exercise Physiologists)
2020: School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine New Research of the Year

Keywords:

exercise physiology

exercise rehabilitation

chronic pain

chronic fatigue syndrome (cfs)

Research

Research activities:

I am an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and investigate the role of exercise for the management of chronic pain and chronic fatigue. Pain and fatigue are closely related sensations which, when persistent, have debilitating effects on health and quality of life. More specifically, my research focuses on the role of exercise for improving outcomes for people with low back pain, knee osteoarthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome and post-cancer fatigue, as well as improving the way Exercise Physiologists manage people with these conditions.

I lead a research group that seeks to better understand how a single bout of exercise affects pain and how this can be modified to enhance the pain-relieving effect of exercise. I contribute to other research groups that use experimental, clinical and translational methods to develop and test new interventions to manage chronic pain and chronic fatigue. My research also seeks to understand gaps in Exercise Physiologists' delivery of guideline care for people with chronic pain and fatigue, and designing ways to address this.

Socio-economic Objective (SEO) tags:

Skeletal System and Disorders (incl. Arthritis)

Teaching & Supervision

I am available to supervise:

Yes

Areas of supervision:

My area of specialty is understanding how exercise can be used to improve outcomes for people with chronic pain and chronic fatigue. Through experimental, clinical and translational methods, my research seeks to optimise the delivery of exercise interventions, including enhancing understanding of how they work, to improve their effectiveness. I provide supervision at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including students completing research internships as part of their final year of the BExPhys, Honours candidates, and postgraduate research candidates (MSc or PhD).

Currently supervising:

Mr Michael Wewege, PhD candidate - Improving the use of analgesic medicines for low back pain
Mr Adrian Ram, PhD candidate - What are Exercise Physiologists saying? Developing targeted pain neuroscience education to improve exercise outcomes for knee osteoarthritis
Ms Kelly McLeod, PhD candidate - EXCITE: Exercise to decrease Cardio-Metabolic Disease Risk
Mr Alexander Kovats, MSc candidate - My knees are creaky: have I got arthritis? An exercise and education intervention to support self-management of knee joint symptoms
Mr Harrison Hansford, Honours candidate - Smallest worthwhile effect for pain
Mr Jack Devonshire, Honours candidate - Developing a clinical tool to predict recovery from low back pain
Mr Sam Williams, Honours candidate - Investigating the mechanisms of graded sensorimotor precision training in adults with chronic non-specific low back pain
Mr Darryl Ser Foong Ho, Honours candidate - Does education influence pain responses to exercise in people with knee osteoarthritis?

Supervision keywords:

exercise physiology

chronic pain

chronic fatigue syndrome (cfs)

back pain

hip and knee osteoarthritis

Teaching:

My clinical experience as an Exercise Physiologist has had a large impact on my teaching activities, which align closely with tasks that Exercise Physiologists would routinely perform in real-world clinical settings. This includes a strong emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving through student-centred learning modalities that require students to take a deeper approach to their learning. In recognition of the many different ways students learn, I use a variety of teaching styles and resources to support this. I also place considerable emphasis on fit for purpose assessment to better guide students' development regarding relevant clinical skills and competencies.

I am also a strong believer in students as 'scientist practitioners' - being able to critically appraise and use scientific evidence to inform their care delivery. Accordingly, I place strong emphasis on developing students' research skills as I believe this will make them a better clinician. Ultimately, my goal is to help students develop into competent and confident new graduate Exercise Physiologists who can adopt an evidence-based, person-centred approach in their care delivery.

Further information regarding my teaching can be found here

Media

Twitter Account:

https://twitter.com/Mattjones0203

Publications related to this Person

Journal articles

Wewege MA; Hagstrom AD; Jones MD, 2021, 'On "elastic Resistance Training Produces Benefits Equivalent to Conventional Resistance Training in People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." de Lima FF, Cavalheri V, Silva BSA, Grigoletto I, Uzeloto JS, Ramos D, Camillo CA, Ramos, EMC. Phys Ther. 2020;100:1891-1905', Physical Therapy, vol. 101, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzaa185

Wewege MA; Devonshire JJ; Hansford HJ; McAuley JH; Jones MD, 2021, 'Comment on: “The training of short distance sprint performance in football code athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis"', Sports Medicine, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01446-5

Hansford HJ; Wewege MA; Jones MD, 2021, 'Commentary on: Stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high–normal blood pressure or stage I hypertension', Journal of Physical Activity and Health, vol. 18, pp. 345 - 346, http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/JPAH.2021-0049

Ram A; Marcos L; Morey R; Clark T; Hakansson S; Ristov M; Franklin A; McCarthy C; De Carli L; Jones MD; Ward RE; Keech A, 2021, 'Exercise for affect and enjoyment in overweight or obese males: a comparison of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training', Psychology, Health and Medicine, pp. 1 - 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2021.1903055

Ram A; Booth J; Thom J; Jones MD, 2020, 'Exercise and education for knee osteoarthritis—What are accredited exercise physiologists providing?', Musculoskeletal Care, vol. 18, pp. 425 - 433, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/msc.1477

Wewege MA; Bagg MK; Jones MD; McAuley JH, 2020, 'Analgesic medicines for adults with low back pain: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis', Systematic reviews, vol. 9, pp. 255, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01506-3

Cashin AG; Lee H; Bagg MK; O'Hagan E; Traeger AC; Kamper SJ; Folly T; Jones MD; Booth J; McAuley JH, 2020, 'A systematic review highlights the need to improve the quality and applicability of trials of physical therapy interventions for low back pain', Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, vol. 126, pp. 106 - 115, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2020.06.025

Wewege MA; Jones MD; McAuley JH, 2020, 'Clinimetrics: Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale', Journal of Physiotherapy, vol. 66, pp. 270, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2020.05.005

Clark T; Morey R; Jones MD; Marcos L; Ristov M; Ram A; Hakansson S; Franklin A; McCarthy C; De Carli L; Ward R; Keech A, 2020, 'High-intensity interval training for reducing blood pressure: a randomized trial vs. moderate-intensity continuous training in males with overweight or obesity', Hypertension Research, vol. 43, pp. 396 - 403, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41440-019-0392-6

Ram A; Marcos L; Jones MD; Morey R; Hakansson S; Clark T; Ristov M; Franklin A; McCarthy C; De Carli L; Ward R; Keech A, 2020, 'The effect of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on aerobic fitness and body composition in males with overweight or obesity: A randomized trial', Obesity Medicine, vol. 17, pp. 100187 - 100187, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obmed.2020.100187

Burrows NJ; Barry BK; Sturnieks DL; Booth J; Jones MD, 2020, 'The Relationship between Daily Physical Activity and Pain in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis', Pain Medicine (United States), vol. 21, pp. 2481 - 2495, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/PM/PNAA096

Jones MD; Munir M; Wilkonski A; Ng K; Beynon G; Keech A, 2020, 'Post-exercise hypotension time-course is influenced by exercise intensity: a randomised trial comparing moderate-intensity, high-intensity, and sprint exercise', Journal of Human Hypertension, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41371-020-00421-3

Jones M; Nuzzo J; Taylor J; Barry B, 2019, 'Aerobic exercise reduces pressure more than heat pain sensitivity in healthy adults', Pain Medicine, vol. 20, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pm/pny289

Hakansson S; Jones MD; Ristov M; Marcos L; Clark T; Ram A; Morey R; Franklin A; McCarthy C; Carli LD; Ward R; Keech A, 2018, 'Intensity-dependent effects of aerobic training on pressure pain threshold in overweight men: A randomized trial', European Journal of Pain (United Kingdom), vol. 22, pp. 1813 - 1823, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejp.1277

Nuzzo JL; Barry BK; Jones MD; Gandevia SC; Taylor JL, 2017, 'Effects of Four Weeks of Strength Training on the Corticomotoneuronal Pathway', Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, vol. 49, pp. 2286 - 2296, http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001367

Jones MD; Valenzuela T; Booth J; Taylor JL; Barry BK, 2017, 'Explicit Education About Exercise-Induced Hypoalgesia Influences Pain Responses to Acute Exercise in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial', Journal of Pain, vol. 18, pp. 1409 - 1416, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2017.07.006

Jones MD; Taylor JL; Barry BK, 2017, 'Occlusion of blood flow attenuates exercise-induced hypoalgesia in the occluded limb of healthy adults', Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 122, pp. 1284 - 1291, http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01004.2016

Jones MD; Taylor JL; Booth J; Barry BK, 2016, 'Exploring the mechanisms of exercise-induced hypoalgesia using somatosensory and laser evoked potentials', Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 7, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2016.00581

Jones MD; Booth J; Taylor JL; Barry BK, 2016, 'Limited association between aerobic fitness and pain in healthy individuals: A cross-sectional study', Pain Medicine (United States), vol. 17, pp. 1799 - 1808, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnv084

Jones M; Booth J; Taylor JL; Barry BK, 2014, 'Aerobic training increases pain tolerance in healthy individuals', Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, vol. 46, pp. 1640 - 1647, http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000273

Rizzo RRN; Ferraro MC; Wewege MA; Cashin AG; Leake HB; O’Hagan ET; Jones MD; Gustin SM; McAuley JH, 'Efficacy and Safety of Medicines Targeting Neurotrophic Factors in the Management of Low Back Pain: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (Preprint)', , http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/preprints.22905

Conference Papers

Jones M; Booth J; Taylor JL; Barry BK, 2015, 'Exploring The Mechanisms Of Exercise-induced Hypoalgesia Using Somatosensory Evoked Potentials', in MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE, LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, pp. CP544 - CP544, http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000478304.96450.d0

Conference Posters

McLeod K; Thom J; Jones M; Parmenter B, 2020, 'Resistance training and high intensity interval training improve cardiometabolic health in older adults: A meta-analysis.', presented at 2020 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, 27 May 2020