The Musculoskeletal Research Program was an emerging area of research in the Griffith Health Institute (GHI) and formerly known as the Bone, Muscle and Movement (BMM) group. BMM was established in 2008 and at the end of 2010 became a Research Program within the Institute.
Our mission is to develop and apply more systematic and patient-specific approaches to the prevention and management of musculoskeletal conditions through cross-disciplinary, multi-scale musculoskeletal research.
In 2004-05, musculoskeletal conditions, as reported in the National Health Survey, were more prevalent than any other of the National Health Priority Areas, with 31% of Australians suffering from one or more of these conditions. Arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions were also responsible for the main disabling condition in more than one in three Australians with a disability (ABS 2004), and were a major area of health expenditure in 2001-02, with around $4.6 billion spent on the conditions (AIHW 2004).
Research within the Musculoskeletal Research Program ranges from fundamental mechanisms of musculoskeletal function to the prevention and management of acute musculoskeletal injury and chronic musculoskeletal disease.
Our members consist of researchers with expertise in medicine, pharmacy, muscle and bone physiology, biomechanics, neuroscience, functional anatomy and the exercise and rehabilitation sciences.
The Research Program is aggregated into 4 major research themes:
- Skeletal biology and bone adaptation to mechanical loading
- Neuromechanics of ageing
- Muscle function in health and disease
- Prevention and management of musculoskeletal disorders