David Butler

David Butler

Assoc Professor David Butler, B.Phty, M.App.Sc, EdD
(NOI Founder and Director)

Understanding and Explaining Pain are David’s passions, and he has a reputation for being able to talk about pain sciences in a way that everyone can understand. David is a physiotherapist, an educationalist, researcher and clinician. He pioneered the establishment of NOI in the early 1990’s. David is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of South Australia and an honoured lifetime member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association.

Among many publications, his texts include Mobilisation of the Nervous System 1991 The Sensitive Nervous System (2000), and with Lorimer Moseley – Explain Pain (2003, 2013), The Graded Motor Imagery Handbook (2012), The Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer (2015) and in 2017, Explain Pain Supercharged. His doctoral studies and current focus are around adult conceptual change, the linguistics of pain and pain story telling. Food, wine and fishing are also research interests.

Publications

Books:

  • Butler DS (1991) Mobilisation of the Nervous System, Churchill Livingstone, Melbourne (translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Italian, Portuguese)
  • Butler DS (2000) The Sensitive Nervous System, Noigroup, Adelaide
  • Butler DS 2005 The Neurodynamics DVD and Handbook, NOI Publications, Adelaide
  • Butler DS, Moseley GL 2003 Explain Pain Second edition (2013) Noigroup Publications, Adelaide. (Translated into German, Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish)
  • Moseley GL, Butler DS, Beames, T, Giles T (2012) The Graded Motor Imagery Handbook. NOI publications, Adelaide.
  • Moseley GL, Butler DS (2015) The Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer, Noigroup, Adelaide
  • Moseley GL, Butler DS (2017) Explain Pain Supercharged, Noigroup Adelaide

Articles and chapters:

  • Simionato R, Stiller K, Butler DS 1988 Neural tension signs in Guillain Barre syndrome: two case reports. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 34: 257-259
  • Butler DS 1989 Adverse mechanical tension in the nervous system: a model for assessment and treatment. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 35: 227-238
  • Butler DS, Gifford LS 1989 The concept of adverse mechanical tension in the nervous system, Part 1. Testing for ‘dural tension’. Physiotherapy 75: 622-629
  • Butler DS, Gifford LS 1989 The concept of adverse mechanical tension in the nervous system. Part 2: Examination and Treatment. Physiotherapy 75: 629-636
  • Graham GJ, Butler DS (1992) Whiplash in Australia: illness or injury? Medical Journal of Australia 157: 429. letter
  • Butler DS (1994) The Upper Limb Tension Test Revisited. In: Grant R. (ed) Physical Therapy of the Cervical and Thoracic spine 2nd edn. Clinics in Physical Therapy, Churchill Livingstone, New York.
  • Butler DS, Slater, H (1994) Neural Injury in the Thoracic Spine. A conceptual basis to management. In: Grant R. (ed) Physical Therapy of the Cervical and Thoracic Spine 2nd edn. Clinics in Physical Therapy, Churchill Livingstone, New York.
  • Shacklock, MO, Butler, DS, Slater, H (1994) The Dynamic Central Nervous System: Structure and Clinical Neurobiomechanics. In Boyling, JD, Palastanga, N, Grieve’s Modern Manual Therapy, 2nd edn, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh
  • Butler DS, Shacklock MO, Slater, H (1994) Treatment of altered nervous system mechanics. In Boyling, JD, Palastanga, N, Grieve’s Modern Manual Therapy, 2nd edn, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh
  • Slater H, Butler DS, Shacklock MO (1994) The dynamic central nervous system: examination and assessment using tension tests. In Boyling, JD, Palastanga, N, Grieve’s Modern Manual Therapy, 2nd edn, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh
  • Butler DS (1996) Nerve. In: Zachazewski J, Quillen J, Magee, D (eds) Athletic Injuries and Rehabilitation, WB Saunders, Philadelphia
  • Butler DS, Slater H (1995) Physiological responses to injury: nerve. In: Zuluaga M et al (1995) Sports Physiotherapy, Churchill Livingstone, Melbourne
  • Gifford LS, Butler DS (1997) The integration of pain sciences into clinical practice. The Journal of Hand Therapy. 10:86-95
  • Butler DS (1998) Commentary- Adverse mechanical tension in the Nervous system: a model for assessment and treatment. In: Maher C (ed.) Adverse Neural tension reconsidered. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy Monograph No. 3.
  • Butler DS (1998) Integrating pain sciences into Physiotherapy: wise action for the future. In Gifford LS (ed) Topical Issues in Pain. NOI Press, Falmouth.
  • Coppieters MW, Butler DS (2001) In defense of neural mobilization.
    Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 31:520-1
  • Coppieters MW, Butler DS (2002) In defense of neural mobilization. Part two. Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy 32: 125-126
  • Nee RJ, Butler DS (2003) Nerves. In Kolt & Snyder-Mackler; Physical Therapies in Sport and Exercise, Harcourt, London
  • Butler DS 2004 Ongoing low back, leg and thorax troubles, with tennis elbow and headaches. In Jones MA, Rivett DA (eds) Clinical Reasoning for Manual Therapists. Butterworth Heinemann, Edinburgh
  • Butler DS, Tomberlin J 2006 Nerve. In: Zachazewski J, Quillen J, Magee, D (eds) Athletic Injuries and Rehabilitation, WB Saunders, Philadelphia
  • Nee RJ, Butler DS 2006 Management of peripheral neuropathic pain: Integrating neurobiology, neurodynamics and clinical evidence. Physical Therapy in Sport 7: 36-49
  • Butler DS, Coppieters MW 2007 Neurodynamics in a broader perspective. Manual Therapy 12(1) e7-8
  • Coppieters MW, Butler DS 2007 Do “sliders” slide and “tensioners” tension? An analysis of neurodynamic techniques and considerations regarding their application. Manual Therapy 13: 213-221
  • Wilson D, Williams M, Butler D 2010 Language and the Pain Experience. Physiotherapy Research International 13 DOI: 10.1002/pri.424
  • Louw A, Diener, I, Butler, DS, Puentedura EJ (2011) The effect of neuroscience education on pain, disability, anxiety and stress in chronic musculoskeletal pain. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2011: 92: 2041-2056
  • Louw A, Butler, DS, Diener, I, Puentedura EJ (2012) Preoperative education for lumbar radiculopathy: A survey of US spine surgeons. Int J Spine Surg 6: 130-139
  • Louw A, Diener, I, Butler, DS, Puentedura EJ (2013) Preoperative education addressing postoperative pain in total joint arthroplasty: review of content and educational delivery methods. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice 29: 174-194
  • Louw A, Diener, I, Butler, DS, Puentedura EJ (2013) Development of a perioperative neuroscience educational program for patients with lumbar radiculopathy. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 92: 446-52
  • Wallwork SB, Butler DS, Moseley GL (2013) Dizzy people perform no worse at a motor imagery task requiring whole body rotation: a case control comparison. Frontiers of Human Neuroscience. 7: 258
  • Wallwork, SB, Butler DS, Fulton I, Stewart H, Darmawan I, Moseley GL (2013) Left/right neck rotation judgments are affected by age, gender, handedness and image rotation. Manual Therapy 18:225-230
  • Bowering KJ, Butler DS, Fulton IJ, Moseley GL (2014) Motor Imagery in people with a history of back pain, current back pain, both or neither. Clinical Journal of Pain 30: 1070-1075
  • Wallwork, SB, Butler DS, Wilson DJ, Moseley GL (2015) Are people who do yoga any better at a motor imagery task than those who are not? British Journal of Sports Medicine: 49: 123-127
  • Von Piekartz H, Wallwork SB, Mohr G, Butler DS, Moseley GL (2014) People with chronic facial pain perform worse than controls at a facial emotion recognition task, but it is not all about the emotion. J Oral Rehabil doi: 10.1111/joor.12249
  • Moseley GL, Butler DS 2015 15 years of explaining pain. J Pain, 16 (9), 807-813 doi:10.1016/j.pain2015.05005
  • Breckenridge JD, McAuley JH, Butler DS, Stewart H, Moseley GL, Ginn KA. (2017)
  • The development of a shoulder specific left/right judgement task: Validity & reliability.
  • Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2017 Apr;28:39-45. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2017.01.009.
  • Pate JW, Hush JM, Hancock MJ, Moseley GL, Butler DS, Simons LE, Pacey V.(2018)
  • A Child’s Concept of Pain: An International Survey of Pediatric Pain Experts.
  • Children (Basel). 2018 Jan 15;5(1). pii: E12. doi: 10.3390/children5010012