Poor musculoskeletal (MSK) health affects nearly 19 million people across the UK, causing pain, disability, fatigue and often anxiety, depression or social isolation. This already represents a significant burden on people, society and the NHS and demand will only increase as our population continues to age. Worsening situation:
The disruption to our hospitals caused by the pandemic has worsened t
he situation, with waiting lists for orthopaedic surgery at record levels: according to British Orthopaedic Association, elective trauma and orthopaedic surgery is the worst affected specialty, with 35,000 people who have waited more than a year and 244,536 who have waited more than 18 weeks for treatment. Breakthrough innovation:
This challenge cannot be solved simply by increasing capacity, but requires new approaches and new ideas for diagnosis and treatment, underpinned by authoritative research studies. We use our funding to encourage breakthrough research and education programmes in bone, joint and muscle wellbeing and thereby reduce the burden of poor musculoskeletal health on individuals, workplaces and our health system. We fund innovative research projects in the UK that expand knowledge, improve patient outcomes and pioneer new forms of diagnosis and treatment. Our investment makes a real difference to the lives of millions of people suffering from poor MSK health, today and into the future.
