Arthritis affects more than 3.9 million adults and children in Australia.
The chronic pain experienced by people with arthritis has a huge impact on their everyday lives. The need for intervention to relieve people of this chronic and debilitating pain is a constant focus for researchers.
Together with our charity The Hospital Research Foundation Group – Arthritis, we provide people living with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions access to services and information to help them live their best life.
Arthritis Support
We deliver a number of services and programs for people with arthritis to take steps to manage their condition.
This includes a dedicated information line on 1800 011 041, which is staffed by our trained healthcare nurses who can answer most of your questions about living with or caring for someone with arthritis.
Developing artificial intelligence technologies to analyse X-rays and MRI to detect juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-related changes such as joint damage.
Researcher
Dr Zhibin Liao hopes this technology will help clinicians and radiologists identify JIA more easily, leading to earlier intervention and preservation of joint integrity.
Bringing VR technology into physiotherapy clinics across Australia through ready-to-use, clinician/patient-friendly devices to improve osteoarthritis pain.
Researcher
Associate Professor Tasha Stanton says VR technology can help exercise be less painful for people with osteoarthritis, important to prevent the condition from worsening.
Developing a system for ‘living evidence’ in musculoskeletal health, so that new information about treatments for arthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases is easy for doctors to access as soon as it becomes available.
This will allow patients and their healthcare providers to have up-to-date information to help them make healthcare decisions.
When children with rheumatic disease (such as arthritis, lupus and dermatomyositis) reach adulthood, they transition from paediatric to adult healthcare. This can be challenging and individualised support is required.
Researcher
Professor Catherine Hill is driving a project to better evaluate their needs, provide education and support (online and healthcare navigation), assist their readiness for transfer and improve healthcare outcomes.
Establishing a musculoskeletal biobank and rheumatology database to better understand risk factors in rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and vasculitis.
A biobank stores samples and tissues to help inform crucial research.
Investigating whether leaky gut syndrome affects the immune response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Researchers at Flinders University are establishing a leaky gut biomarker panel in RA patients, with the hope that direct targeting of leaky gut provides an opportunity to stop the inflammation in RA, thereby increasing chances of a drug-free remission.
Helping the Rheumatology Unit at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital find new treatments for painful knee and hand osteoarthritis through trial of new drugs.
Researcher
Professor Catherine Hill leads many clinical trials aimed at easing the pain for people with arthritis.
Trialling the use of rocker sole footwear in treating painful midfoot osteoarthritis.
Midfoot arthritis gives pain in the joints spanning the arch of the foot.
