About Arthritis & Musculoskeletal Research Team
Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions are a national health priority, primarily because the prevalence and attendant costs of these conditions are extremely high: persisting symptoms from back pain and osteoarthritis, alone, affect more than 20% of Australians. The expected rise in prevalence of disability associated with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in the coming decades will translate to a dramatic escalation in costs and burden on the community. Prevention of persisting symptoms and disability after an acute episode is an enormous challenge, and is clearly the focus for the future. However, effective prevention, including successful rehabilitation after injury, requires much more underpinning knowledge than is currently available.
The Arthritis and Musculoskeletal research group at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney are currently investigating effective prevention and treatments strategies for common musculoskeletal conditions. We are investigating pathological and clinical diagnoses of conditions where this has previously been unrewarding, prevalence of various conditions where this was previously unknown, exploring novel treatments to improve outcomes for our patients, and identifying clear risk factors and indicators of poor prognosis for various specific musculoskeletal conditions.
Specifically, the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal research group is investigating issues related to osteoarthritis, back pain, neck pain, foot and ankle conditions, shoulder pain and hip and groin injuries. Our work is conducted in collaboration with colleagues nationally and internationally, and includes researchers with relevant expertise, such as psychologists, rheumatologists, podiatrists, psychiatrists, epidemiologists, statisticians, exercise physiologists, biomechanists, general practitioners, surgeons, pharmacists, physiologists and neuroscientists.
The 1000Norms Research Project
In the era of patient-centred outcomes research, the 1000Norms Project will be a critical resource for outcome measure development in clinical trials of children and adults with neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. A normative reference dataset this large will be a powerful resource for our research activities and an important dataset to share internationally via an online portal. It will provide clinicians with a framework of normal variation and provide a reference point from which pathology can be diagnosed and treatment initiated.
If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact
or contact Associate Professor Joshua Burns directly at joshua.burns@health.nsw.gov.au
Spinal Pain Research
The Spinal Pain Research group aims to solve some of the major issues facing people with back or neck pain.
Team leader: Dr Paulo Ferreira
Foot & Ankle Research
The Foot and Ankle Research group aims to improve the epidemiology, diagnosis, assessment and treatment of foot and ankle disorders in society.
Team leaders: Associate Professor Joshua Burns & Dr Claire Hiller
Osteoarthritis
The Osteoarthritis group's research is aimed at reducing the pain and disability burden associated with osteoarthritis.
Team leader: Associate Professor Marlene Fransen