Joint Action

Can identifying the right patients and the right endpoints transform how we test new osteoarthritis treatments? On this week's episode of Joint Action, we unpack what the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium has learned so far, and how their latest phase aims to deliver biomarkers that can make disease-modifying OA drug trials smaller, faster, and more likely to succeed.Dr. Virginia Byers Kraus is a Professor of Medicine, Pathology, and Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine. A rheumatologist and translational scientist, her research focuses on osteoarthritis and biomarker development as part of the international FNIH Biomarkers Consortium.Peter G. Mesenbrink, Ph.D., is Executive Director of Biostatistics at Novartis and industry co-chair of the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium. With expertise in adaptive trial design, surrogate endpoint development, and data sharing policy, he is a frequent collaborator across industry, regulatory, and academic communities.Dr. Jamie Collins is a biostatistician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. As lead statistician for the FNIH OA Biomarkers Consortium, her research focuses on strengthening osteoarthritis clinical trials through innovative trial design and prognostic enrichment.RESOURCESFNIH: Treatment Response Biomarkers for Disease Modifying Osteoarthritis Drugs (DMOADs)CONNECT WITH USNaia Health: https://www.naiahealth.com.au/st-leonards-hubJoin one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trialsInstagram: @ProfDavidHunterTwitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorgEmail: hello@jointaction.infoWebsite: www.jointaction.info/podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to learn more about osteoarthritis from the world's leading experts! And please let us know what you thought by leaving us a review!

What does it actually mean to have 'early-stage' osteoarthritis, and does catching it sooner really make a difference? On this week's episode of Joint Action, learn more about early-stage knee osteoarthritis, how it's defined, and why the EsSKOA initiative is changing the way we identify and understand the condition in its earliest phases.Dr. Armaghan Mahmoudian is an Assistant Professor of Movement Sciences and Health at the University of West Florida, where she teaches anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, and research methods, and co-directs the biomechanics and motor learning laboratory. As a clinician-scientist, her research focuses on understanding disease mechanisms and their impact on function and quality of life, with a particular interest in personalised medicine and disease prevention in an ageing population.RESOURCESEsSKOA InitiativeJournal article Reframing early-stage symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (EsSKOA): A strategic lens for trial designCONNECT WITH USNaia Health: https://www.naiahealth.com.au/st-leonards-hubJoin one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trialsInstagram: @ProfDavidHunterTwitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorgEmail: hello@jointaction.infoWebsite: www.jointaction.info/podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to learn more about osteoarthritis from the world's leading experts! And please let us know what you thought by leaving us a review!

On this week's episode of Joint Action, learn more about how knee braces work, who they help and how they can improve pain and function for people with knee osteoarthritis. Melanie Holden is a Chartered Physiotherapist and the Professor of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation at the School of Medicine at Keele University. Her current research focuses on how to best manage musculoskeletal pain through rehabilitation using non-drug, non-surgical treatments.Her mission is to create high-quality, innovative research that improves patient care. She is an expert in a wide range of research methods, and she involves patients and the public at every stage of her research, to ensure that it reflects real-world needs and experiences.RESOURCESJournal articleProvision of knee bracing for knee osteoarthritis (PROP OA): multicentre, parallel group, superiority, statistician blinded, randomised controlled trialCONNECT WITH USNaia Health: https://www.naiahealth.com.au/st-leonards-hubJoin one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trialsInstagram: @ProfDavidHunterTwitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorgEmail: hello@jointaction.infoWebsite: www.jointaction.info/podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to learn more about osteoarthritis from the world's leading experts! And please let us know what you thought by leaving us a review!

Knee osteoarthritis doesn’t just affect joints—it can limit people’s ability to participate fully in work and daily life, shaping their long‑term wellbeing and productivity. In this week's episode of Joint Action we are joined by Jason Jin and Ilana Ackerman to explore how knee osteoarthritis influences workforce participation.Dr Xingzhong (Jason) Jin is a conjoint research fellow at UNSW and the managing director of Precision Statistics Medtech Consulting. He is a musculoskeletal epidemiologist and health data scientist with a desire to bridge the gap between research and real-world healthcare impacts. Professor Ilana Ackerman is a Research Professor at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University and Deputy Director of the Musculoskeletal Health Unit. She is a musculoskeletal epidemiologist and an experienced orthopaedic physiotherapist and has led an important program of clinical and population-based research designed to quantify the personal and societal burden of hip and knee osteoarthritis, forecast trends in arthritis and joint replacement surgery, and evaluate the outcomes of joint replacement. She has also been involved in the development of multiple policy and guideline initiatives for osteoarthritis.RESOURCESJournal articlesLoss of Productivity-Adjusted Life-Years in Working-Age Australians Due to Knee Osteoarthritis: A Life-Table Modeling ApproachCONNECT WITH USNaia Health: https://www.naiahealth.com.au/st-leonards-hubJoin one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trialsInstagram: @ProfDavidHunterTwitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorgEmail: hello@jointaction.infoWebsite: www.jointaction.info/podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to learn more about osteoarthritis from the world's leading experts! And please let us know what you thought by leaving us a review!

Why does a bad night’s sleep make everything hurt more? On this week's episode of Joint Action, we are joined by A/Prof Michelle Hall to explore the cycle between sleep and pain and some practical strategies to help regain both rest and relief.Michelle Hall is an Associate Professor within Sydney Musculoskeletal Health and the School of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney. A leading expert in hip and knee osteoarthritis, Michelle's research focuses on lifestyle strategies-including exercise, sleep, and bracing-to reduce pain and improve quality of life. Her work has produced more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, and she currently leads multi-site clinical trials across Australia and the United States. RESOURCESThisWayUp - Online Mental Health TreatmentCONNECT WITH USNaia Health: https://www.naiahealth.com.au/st-leonards-hubJoin one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trialsInstagram: @ProfDavidHunterTwitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorgEmail: hello@jointaction.infoWebsite: www.jointaction.info/podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to learn more about osteoarthritis from the world's leading experts! And please let us know what you thought by leaving us a review!

Hear from the co-editors-in-chief of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage journal on what they thought were the latest advances in osteoarthritis research in 2025.Anne-Marie Malfait, MD, PhD, is Professor of Medicine and the Klaus E. Kuettner, Chair of Osteoarthritis Research at Rush University. She is co-Editor-in-Chief of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage journal alongside David Hunter.RESOURCESDavid's papers Comparative efficacy and safety of exercise modalities in knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and network meta-analysis Clinical and cost-effectiveness of a cycling and education intervention versus usual physiotherapy care for the treatment of hip osteoarthritis in the UK (CLEAT): a pragmatic, randomised, controlled trial The Cost-Effectiveness of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide for Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis and ObesityAnne-Marie's paperFM-dye inhibition of Piezo2 relieves mechanically evoked pain in mouse models of acute inflammatory and osteoarthritic knee painAssociation of Synovial Innate Immune Exhaustion With Worse Pain in Knee OsteoarthritisLipidomics unravels lipid changes in osteoarthritis articular cartilageCONNECT WITH USJoin one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trialsInstagram: @ProfDavidHunterTwitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorgEmail: hello@jointaction.infoWebsite: www.jointaction.info/podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to learn more about osteoarthritis from the world's leading experts! And please let us know what you thought by leaving us a review!

Tai Chi is a gentle, low-impact exercise that combines slow, controlled movements with balance and mindfulness. In this week’s episode of Joint Action, we are joined by Julia Zhu to discuss the evidence behind Tai Chi and its benefits for people living with knee osteoarthritis.Julia Zhu is a physiotherapist and PhD student at the Centre for Health, Exercise & Sports Medicine at the University of Melbourne. She recently submitted her PhD, which focused on developing and evaluating a self-directed online intervention for people with osteoarthritis in a clinical trial, where she developed the RETREAT trial that investigated at the effects of an online Tai Chi program. She has an interest in bridging the gap between research and practice and to drive impact with innovation.RESOURCESMyJoint Tai Chi websiteOnline Unsupervised Tai Chi Intervention for Knee Pain and Function in People With Knee OsteoarthritisThe RETREAT Randomized Clinical TrialCONNECT WITH USJoin one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trialsInstagram: @ProfDavidHunterTwitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorgEmail: hello@jointaction.infoWebsite: www.jointaction.info/podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to learn more about osteoarthritis from the world's leading experts! And please let us know what you thought by leaving us a review!

On this week's episode we are airing the debate between Prof Kim Bennell, internationally renowned for her groundbreaking research on physiotherapy, exercise, and self-management for people living with osteoarthritis and Prof Marius Henriksen, a leading voice in musculoskeletal research, who has rigorously examined the role and sometimes limits of exercise in osteoarthritis care. Listen to this thought-provoking exchange between two absolute heavyweights in the field and dig deeper to find out whether exercise truly delivers on its promise for people with osteoarthritis.RESOURCESYoutube recordingCONNECT WITH USJoin one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trialsInstagram: @ProfDavidHunterTwitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorgEmail: hello@jointaction.infoWebsite: www.jointaction.info/podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to learn more about osteoarthritis from the world's leading experts! And please let us know what you thought by leaving us a review!