Saying that, MSK pain and problems can affect us at any age, and are the greatest cause of disability in developed countries. Impact of conditions such as arthritis on our quality of life is wide ranging, and span from limitations in daily activities to reduced leisure, as well as having problems at work. For example we know that one in five people with Rheumatoid Arthritis are at risk of work disability five years from receiving a diagnosis.

Whilst some people may be diagnosed with one or more MSK condition(s), some of us will just have an unexplained acute or chronic pain and stiffness in one or more joints in our body. There are hundreds of MSK and rheumatic conditions, therefore getting a differential diagnosis may take some time. Most commonly known conditions can be listed as Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Fibromyalgia and Gout. There are also rare diseases such as Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) which commonly affects the arteries in the skull causing pain and tenderness over the temples. Because of this, GCA is often known as temporal arteritis. You can find more information about different types of MSK and rheumatic conditions here.

Nevertheless, whether you have a diagnosed MSK condition or living with chronic widespread pain and/ or joint problems, the MSKHUB.com is here to help you better self-manage your symptoms to lead a happier, healthier and more active life. I can hear you say “Sounds great! Tell me how?” Well, here is the thing:

MSKHUB.com is an online self-management platform created by people with MSK conditions, rheumatology researchers  and health professionals to:

• enable you to conduct self assessment of your MSK/rheumatic pain and problems using evidence-based, valid and reliable clinical assessments and create your own online health record
• provide individualised advice and practical tips to help you with daily activities and participation
• increase access to relevant and understandable health information to enable you to effectively self-manage your symptoms.
• translate the latest, evidence-based research into simple strategies that you can apply
• help you to identify whether you are at risk of work instability and if so, suggests strategies you can adopt at work to prevent work disability
• share good practice and latest in the clinical field, and provide training to support health professionals working in rheumatology to provide you with better, research informed care.
• collect health data using valid and reliable patient reported outcome measures to create a large research repository to investigate the impact of health conditions on individuals’ function, participation and quality of life.