About us
Musculoskeletal and other painful conditions cause enormous suffering, disability, healthcare consumption and social and economic impact globally and throughout the life course. The Cochrane Musculoskeletal Health and Pain Thematic Group is committed to advancing research and enhancing outcomes for musculoskeletal health and pain management.
Our group seeks to address these critical health issues by collaborating with experts from diverse Cochrane Review Groups and Fields. Our mission is to support the production of reviews that provide valuable insights into musculoskeletal health and pain management, informing healthcare practices and policies globally.
Team
Our plans
Our vision is to support and grow:
- A global network of expertise in musculoskeletal health and pain management
- Advanced knowledge translation activities including with our clinical communities and key policymakers
- Programs of structured and multi-voiced priority setting across our scope
- Production of the highest quality reviews
We will concentrate our focus on several key areas:
- Collaborative integration: We will emphasise cross-disciplinary collaboration to take advantage of a range of expertise to address complex challenges in musculoskeletal health and pain management.
- Pioneering interventions: Committed to making a tangible difference, we will pinpoint critical knowledge gaps and establish priorities that ensure our evidence synthesis leads to substantial improvements in patient care and outcomes.
- Developing skills: Our group will be instrumental in equipping authors and editors with the skills needed to create high quality reviews that address the main challenges in this area.
- Strengthening connections: We will use our influence to leverage existing strengths and broaden our network of contributors, enhancing the development of comprehensive reviews and supporting the adoption of innovative synthesis methodologies.
- Transformative Publications: We will dedicate our resources to producing authoritative systematic reviews that deliver timely and effective interventions, significantly improving musculoskeletal health and alleviating pain-related conditions.
Upcoming news and activities
Editorial board opportunities: We will be appointing senior and associate editor positions in the coming months. Stay tuned for more information!
EMCR opportunities: There will be opportunities to guide the future direction of this thematic group. If you are and early- or mid-career researcher interested, please contact us.
Representatives from regions in the Global South: If you have systematic review expertise in the field of musculoskeletal health and pain management research and are currently working in the Global South, we want to hear from you!
News: Rachelle Buchbinder, a distinguished member of Cochrane who has authored over 100 systematic reviews and leads the Musculoskeletal Health and Pain thematic group, has been awarded the 2024 Anne Anderson Award. Read more.
Current key priorities
- Adopt a life course approach to global ageing
- Support the use of “age-inclusive language” across different cultures, contexts and evidence syntheses.
- Incorporate self-reported behavioural outcomes to evidence synthesis.
- Understand the interaction of multimorbidity and functionality including its impact on quality of life.
- Collaborate with members of the public, stakeholders and policy makers.
Contact us
For more information about our work or to get involved with the Cochrane Thematic Group in Musculoskeletal Health and Pain, please contact: Renea Johnston.