Associate Professor Lucy Thomas is a teaching and research academic in the Discipline of Physiotherapy in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, at the University of Queensland. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Newcastle in 2013, with a thesis entitled 'Minimising risk factors for cervical spine manipulation', a Master of Medical Science from the same institution on the validity of the Doppler velocimeter as a pre-manipulative screening tool for vertebral artery flow, and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Science (Manipulative Physiotherapy) from the University of Sydney. A registered practicing Titled Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist with 34 years of clinical experience, she maintains an honorary physiotherapy position at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. She joined the University of Queensland as Senior Lecturer in 2014, following a Lectureship at the University of Newcastle from 2008 to 2014. As Co-Director of the Neck and Head Research Unit, she teaches extensively in undergraduate and postgraduate physiotherapy programs and supervises doctoral students.

Her research specializations include the safety of manual treatment of the neck, recognition of red flag conditions in patients with headache and neck pain, evaluation of the neck's role in disorders such as headache and dizziness, validation of simple screening tools for the cervical region, and optimization of cervical spine disorder management, with a particular emphasis on cervical arterial dissection. She led the development of the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s ‘Clinical guide to safe manual therapy practice in the cervical spine’ in 2018, which informed the revised 2020 International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists framework. Key publications encompass 'Validation of a diagnostic support tool for early recognition of cervical arterial dissection in primary care' (2024), 'Development of a diagnostic support tool for predicting cervical arterial dissection in primary care' (2023), 'Neck pain associated with migraine does not necessarily reflect cervical musculoskeletal dysfunction' (2021), 'Should we abandon positional testing for vertebrobasilar insufficiency?' (2020), and contributions to textbooks on cervical spine management. With over 970 citations, her work has advanced clinical practices in musculoskeletal physiotherapy. Thomas is regularly invited to deliver webinars, lectures, and workshops nationally and internationally on safe cervical spine evaluation and management.

Professional Email: l.thomas2@uq.edu.au