About
Clinician and Research Physiotherapist with a special interest in hand and upper limb musculoskeletal pain.
Dr Sonia Ranelli has 25 years experience as a clinical physiotherapist in the area of musculoskeletal pain, acute and chronic, and with a special interest in hand and upper limb musculoskeletal pain disorders and the management of the patient with Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS. She has worked in Perth and in Oxford, UK, in the hospital system, in general private practice and now within the Perth Upper Limb Centre of Excellence.
She has competent and expert clinical skills in the management of the patient with musculoskeletal pain, and uses contemporary pain science to inform
clinical reasoning knowledge and skills to ensure patient-centred goals and outcomes are realised. As a physiotherapist in a specialised clinic, she liaises with physiotherapists in the community, locally and regionally, to co-share management of patients referred to the clinic.
She also lectures at the School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, in musculoskeletal physiotherapy and pain, across the undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
Her doctoral research established her reputation in the health and well-being of young musicians locally, nationally and internationally, providing world-first data in this group of musicians. She started her research career in this very important area and her unique combination of research and clinical expertise has placed her in a strong position to continue and embrace opportunities for translational research in the area of hand and upper limb musculoskeletal problems more broadly.
Collaborated with
She has collaborated with physiotherapy and academic colleagues in translational research projects for musculoskeletal pain: RAP-eL, Rheumatoid Arthritis Physiotherapy – e Learning (Fary, Briggs, Slater, Chua, Ranelli), an online CPD resource for physiotherapists to facilitate the translation of practical and evidence-informed management for patients with RA to optimise patient outcomes, and painHEALTH, an evidence-informed, interactive web resource for people with musculoskeletal pain http://painhealth.csse.uwa.edu.au/, led by Professor Slater and Dr Davies.
She was awarded an Endeavour Fellowship in 2016 which took her to Germany to
continue research in hand and upper limb pain in adolescent string instrumentalists.
Published in
Dr Ranelli has published in leading journals in her research fields, and has presented at national and international conferences and symposia, including keynote presentations.
She is an International Editorial Board member of the Hand Therapy Journal UK).