Cynthia Srikesavan

When Cynthia finished her school education in Tamil Nadu, India, she was offered a place at the Government College of Physiotherapy in Tiruchirappalli. ‘I was impressed that through physiotherapy you can improve the quality of life for people and make them functional after an injury or a chronic health condition,’ she recalls. 

‘Because I liked the programme and developed a passion for it, I worked very hard and topped the programme. As physios, we help people in practical ways to get better, backed with scientific knowledge. I like the autonomy of the profession.’ 

That passion has never waned. Dr Srikesavan is now a senior researcher in physiotherapy at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford, and is also a senior research fellow at the University of Exeter. 

After college, she was a tutor for undergraduates alongside working as a clinical physiotherapist in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat. 

She soon became interested in further study. ‘The patients I worked with had a lot to deal with mentally and that was impacting on their chronic pain. So, I felt there was a connection between pain and the mind. That was my trigger to study a master’s degree in psychology in 2003, and an MPhil in psychology in 2004, while I continued teaching.’ 

In 2009, she was awarded a master’s degree in physiotherapy with specialisation in neurological conditions. Then, a year later, Cynthia moved to Canada to join her husband, who was studying there. 

Developing research skills 

Cynthia joined the applied health sciences PhD programme at the University of Manitoba, Canada and obtained her doctorate in 2015. Her thesis investigated the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial on a novel, computer game-based hand exercise programme for people with rheumatoid arthritis or hand osteoarthritis, drawing on her previous clinical experience with these patients.

She further developed her skills and research experience with the help of excellent mentors, worked as a research assistant on other projects, and then relocated to the UK, where she was offered a post at the University of Oxford. 

‘The role was almost tailor-made for me as they were looking for someone to translate an evidence-based hand exercise programme into practice,’ she says. 

She started working full time, while she and her husband both cared for their son who has learning disabilities and autism. Her challenges were compounded by the fact that due to the restriction for those on work visas, Cynthia and her husband had to manage all his care needs. 

There is a huge process when you come from another country and you need support from people, which I had from my compassionate managers and mentors – Professor Sallie Lamb and Dr Esther Williamson.

They both provided timely support in the form of flexible working, guidance, and eventually supporting her application for indefinite leave to remain, Cynthia says, and she gives a lot of credit to them for allowing her to thrive. 

Cynthia has found the research route fulfilling and is now at a senior level, implementing various evidence-based physio programmes in the NHS and globally, while serving on the thesis committee and examining PhD students. 

She collaborated with clinicians and patients on two implementation projects of the Strengthening and Stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) exercise programme for people with difficulties in hand function due to rheumatoid arthritis. 

‘We developed a free online course for health professionals’, she explains. 

‘I was also involved in the development and evaluation of the self-guided, online SARAH programme, which allows them to access it directly. We have just finished an evaluation in the NHS and will be launching it soon for patient use.’

Other online courses that she evaluates and monitors address conditions including low back pain, breast cancer and shoulder pain and how health professionals are using them. 

She has also explored patients’ experiences with the interventions they received for their shoulder (UK-FROST) and back pain (BOOST) in multicenter trials. 

Cynthia has presented at international conferences conducted by World Physiotherapy, the European Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy, the CSP, the American Physical Therapy Association, the Canadian Arthritis Network and the British Society of Rheumatology, to name a few. 

Her advice for physios keen to pursue a research career is to work hard, find supportive mentors, update professional knowledge and research methods, and volunteer. 

Volunteer your time 

Despite her busy work and personal commitments, Cynthia sees volunteering as immensely valuable and fulfilling. She chairs the clinical evidence committee of the British Association of Hand Therapists (BAHT) and has volunteered with Cochrane Collaboration and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). 

Coming from a South Asian background, Cynthia draws inspiration from her cultural heritage, which places significant value on volunteering and giving back to society. 

‘One of my passions is to take the programmes we developed in the UK and translate and cross-culturally adapt them into local languages, so that physiotherapists can use them in their practice,’ she says. 

She is leading a volunteer team which translates patient-reported outcome measures with permission from Oxford University Innovation in collaboration with two Indian universities. Cynthia has spread the word about SARAH by writing articles in Tamil newspaper with a readership of millions, and the SARAH patient materials are available in 13 languages. 

Cynthia suggests that South Asian physios working in the UK in clinical or research roles should actively look for collaborations and grab volunteering opportunities, which help develop transferable skills.

In 2017, she received the CSP Robert Williams Award for her platform presentation at the World Physiotherapy conference in South Africa. 

‘This gave me recognition and boosted my research profile, and I am really thankful for that. Members should apply for funding opportunities and get involved,’ she adds.

Recently, Cynthia joined the CSP Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) network and is planning initiatives to improve the research culture for its members and possibly start a journal club. 

Her volunteering extends to reviewing abstracts for the CSP, World Physiotherapy and BAHT conferences. ‘It’s important to give time to your profession and your professional organisation,’ she says. 

‘Despite the demands of our home life, my husband Srikesavan Sabapathy, who is also a physio, and I volunteer as much as possible. 

‘I work four days a week and volunteer for one. If South Asian physios explore how they can contribute further to the profession, they will be rewarded in many ways.’