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Joseph McVeigh

Biography

Dr McVeigh is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Physiotherapy programme at UCC. He obtained a BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy from Ulster University in 1992 following which he was employed in the NHS. Dr McVeigh worked in a range of acute and community clinical settings as a staff grade then senior physiotherapist before specialising in the rehabilitation of long-term musculoskeletal conditions. In 1999 Dr McVeigh took up a joint clinical-academic post between the Royal Hospitals Trust and Ulster University. This was one of the first physiotherapy lecturer/practitioner positions in the North of Ireland. Dr McVeigh was subsequently appointed as a full-time as a Lecturer in Physiotherapy at Ulster University, while continuing with private physiotherapy practice. While at Ulster University Dr McVeigh has been Course Director of the undergraduate BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy and the MSc Sport and Exercise Medicine programmes. Dr McVeigh was awarded a Fellowship (2013) and Senior Fellowship (2016) of the Higher Education Academy and has acted as External Examiner for the BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy programme at St George’s University of London and is currently External Examiner for the MSc (pre-registration) Physiotherapy programme at Manchester Metropolitan University.   Ever the optimist, Dr McVeigh was physiotherapist with the Co. Down Senior Hurling team 1996 -2008.

Research Interests

Dr McVeigh was awarded his PhD, ‘Physiotherapy Management of Fibromyalgia Syndrome’ in 2007. While Dr McVeigh maintains his research interests in fibromyalgia syndrome and chronic pain, his area of research has expanded to include non-pharmacological interventions in rheumatological conditions, self-management and exercise in shoulder pain and the musculoskeletal consequences of breast reconstruction, post-mastectomy, in women with breast cancer. Dr McVeigh has well established international collaborations and has published with colleagues in the USA, Spain, New Zealand and Brazil in addition to colleagues in the UK and Ireland. Dr McVeigh is passionate that physiotherapy research should have impact and his work has been cited in National Clinical Guidelines for fibromyalgia syndrome (Canadian and German), NICE guideline reviews (rheumatoid arthritis) and multiple practice guidelines, state of the art and international evidence based reviews.  Dr McVeigh’s work has also been used to inform patient guidelines, including guidelines from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, USA.

Dr McVeigh is Editor-in-Chief of Physiotherapy Practice and Research, the Journal of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists. He is also a member of The World Association of Medical Journal Editors (WAME), and a member of The International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors. Dr McVeigh is a reviewer for multiple international peer reviewed journals including: Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; The Cochrane Collaboration and The Journal of Pain.  Dr McVeigh is keen to support emerging researchers in physiotherapy has been an invited PhD External Examiner for PhD students in the University of Seville and the University of Granada, Spain, the University of Stellenbosch University, South Africa, Keele University and Northumbria University in the UK. Dr McVeigh has supervised PhD and MPhil/MSc students to completion and continues to supervise PhD students. Dr McVeigh’s current projects include self-management of shoulder pain; pre-habilitation and behavioural change interventions in fibromyalgia syndrome, the effectiveness of hand and wrist splinting in rheumatoid arthritis and the link between diet and chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Publications

Visit Dr McVeigh's research profile for a full list of his publications. 

Professional Activity