
A true role model for academic success.
Charlotte Marshall serves as a Professional Practice Fellow in the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Otago, based at the Christchurch centre within the Faculty of Health Professional Programmes and the Division of Health Sciences. In this role, she contributes to teaching and clinical education efforts in physiotherapy. Her professional contact information includes telephone +64 3 244 1032 and email charlotte.marshall@otago.ac.nz. Marshall is actively involved in advancing evidence-based physiotherapy practices through research and clinical trials focused on musculoskeletal conditions.
Marshall is the designated contact for the StePS-NZ study, formally known as Otago Shoulder Health: Stepped Care for Persistent Shoulder Pain, led by Professor Gisela Sole and funded by a New Zealand Health Research Council project grant. This randomized clinical trial compares two physiotherapy care pathways grounded in current research evidence and guidelines for managing persistent shoulder pain lasting over three months in adults aged 18 and older, excluding those with prior shoulder surgery, dislocation, fracture, frozen shoulder, or specific joint pathologies like rheumatoid arthritis. Participants engage in up to ten sessions of 30-60 minutes over three months at clinics in Auckland CBD, Ōtorohanga, Christchurch, and Dunedin, maintaining activity and pain diaries while completing questionnaires at baseline and four follow-ups, with sessions provided at no cost and a $30 voucher for initial screening. She also coordinated contacts for the October 29, 2025, seminar 'Shoulder care: Closing the practice-research loop' at the University of Otago Christchurch Bevan Lecture Theatre, co-hosted with Physiotherapy New Zealand Canterbury Branch, featuring presentations by Professor Gisela Sole, Professors Jean-Sébastien Roy and François Desmeules from Canada, and local clinicians Jeffrey Huang and Jack Chan on shoulder pain research and primary care applications. Among her research outputs, Marshall co-authored the 2025 conference abstract 'Investigating pre and post-operative effects of hip arthroscopic surgery for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome via telehealth: a pilot study,' conducted through the Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research at the School of Physiotherapy Christchurch, which evaluated patient-reported outcomes, hip range of motion, and functional tests pre- and post-surgery, demonstrating improvements alongside residual deficits at six months relative to controls.