A new Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory has been launched at the University of Sydney which will integrate basic and clinical research to develop pioneering interventions to prevent, minimise or manage injury, chronic disease and disability.

 

Director of the Laboratory, Professor Kathryn Refshauge said back pain and osteoarthritis are highly prevalent conditions that place a significant personal and economic burden on individuals and the wider community, both in terms of productivity and quality of life.

 

Under Professor Refshauge’s leadership, the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Research Group has focused on back and neck pain, foot and ankle disorders, arthritis and pediatrics.

 

The laboratory is currently conducting a number of studies, including research that aims, for the first time, to uncover the real cause of back and neck pain by examining the pathology of pain and psychological factors.

 

The group has also recently completed a large epidemiological study of people in rural and metropolitan NSW finding that as many as 20 percent of people have ongoing disability as a result of previous ankle injury.

 

"We have found that the majority of people do not seek ongoing treatment from health professionals as current treatment and rehabilitation appears not to be effective in the long term," Professor Refshauge said.

 

"We are now investigating why some of these acute ankle injuries become chronic - what goes wrong - and then designing new treatments to provide effective cure."

 

More information is here.