Better and Earlier Treatments for Knee Osteoarthritis
Musculoskeletal conditions are a leading cause of pain, disability and healthcare use around the world. One condition—knee osteoarthritis (OA)—affects more than 250 million people globally, causing tremendous personal distress and adding to health care costs. For people living with knee OA, just taking steps can be a real and painful challenge. The good news is that researchers are developing promising new treatments for this condition.
Dr. Trevor Birmingham, Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, is leading a trans-disciplinary team of researchers who are investigating how rehabilitative and surgical interventions can be combined to change the way the knee bears weight during walking. The goal is to slow, halt or even reverse the progression of knee OA.
Knee OA involves a complex interplay between biomechanical and biological processes. There are currently no treatments known to slow disease progression—partly due to limitations in our available measurement techniques. Birmingham and his research team will use multiple approaches to develop and validate innovative biological, biomechanical and imaging methods to measure the progression of knee OA.
The advanced technologies they develop will be integrated into clinical trials designed to evaluate proposed rehabilitative and surgical interventions. Ultimately, their research could lead to earlier treatment and prevention of knee OA.