What is MSKHUB and WHO is it for?

Welcome to the MSKHUB.com 

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions (such as joint pain and problems) are common and increase with age. As science and medicine move forward, we are living longer and consequently have an ageing workforce. However, living longer/ ageing is also associated with worsening MSK pain and problems. These problems can range from aches and pains on knees when climbing stairs to functional problems with hands when trying to open jars and bottle tops, or struggling with activities once enjoyed, due to pain, fatigue and sleep problems. We know that one in two people over the age of 50 will get Osteoarthritis  and 1 in 10 over the age of 65 will experience major decline in function.

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 life. I can hear you say “Sounds great! Tell me how?” Well, here is the thing:

MSKHUB.com is an online 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 records
  • 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.
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Once you have registered with the MSKHUB you will be able to login to your account and complete self assessments to create your own health records. As you complete these assessments, you will receive individualised advice, based on the type of difficulties/ problems you have reported. You will also be able to create charts to review your progress over time, save and print the results of these assessments to take them to your health professionals to show the extent of your difficulties, as well as your progress.
As the MSKHUB is developed by a rheumatology rehab research group led by Dr Yeliz Prior based at the University of Salford, data collected through these assessment will be used to better inform the evidence base for clinical rehabilitation of people with MSK conditions. So when you are helping yourself, you will be also helping others experiencing similar challenges. Please note that all data collected at the MSKHUB.com will be anonymised and kept confidential, accessed only by the research team. Also, we are not collecting any personally identifiable data from you and encourage you to use nick names when creating profiles and partaking in forums.

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