Musculoskeletal disorders such as arthritis, back pain and osteoporosis are major and increasing problems in our ageing society, and there is a corresponding world-wide research effort to understand and modify the underlying disease processes. Six academic staff are currently active in the Musculoskeletal Research Group in CCCA, with collaborative links with colleagues in the Schools of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Archaeology and Anthropology, and Cellular and Molecular Medicine.  Clinical collaborators work in the Faculty of Clinical Medicine and Dentistry, and at Frenchay and Southmead hospitals.

Members of the Group have contributed to major textbooks, including the latest editions of Gray’s Anatomy, and have received several recent research awards:

• Best Oral paper at the British Society of Neuroradiology, Nottingham, October 2009.
• Best Oral paper at the Society for Back Pain Research, Chepstow, November 2009.
• Best Basic Science (oral) paper, Britspine, Liverpool, April 2010

Research topics

• Osteoarthritis: mechanisms of cartilage damage; role of chondrocyte apoptosis in initiation and progression of osteoarthritis; biomarkers for investigation of pathogenesis and progression of knee osteoarthritis; role of local mechanical factors in quadruped arthritis;
• Back pain: mechanisms of injury to the lumbar and cervical spine; intervertebral disc degeneration and prolapse; motor control in patients with back and neck pain;
• Osteoporosis: effects of sex hormones on bone mass and architecture; local mechanical factors in vertebral deformity; bone “creep”; treatment of vertebral deformity using cement augmentation techniques (vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty);
• Comparative locomotion:general principles of bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion, including the effects of scaling;

Techniques

These include immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), confocal microscopy, mechanical testing of biological tissues and surgical implants, bone histomorphometry and densitomitry using DXA and microCT, electromyography, and gait analysisusing force plates and movement sensors.

Funding

Sources of recent research funding include: BBSRC, Action Medical Research, NHS, Arthritis Research UK, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Gloucestershire Arthritis Trust, and several orthopaedic companies.

Academic Staff in the Musculoskeletal Research Group

• Prof Mike Adams  Research interests include the biomechanics of intervertebral discs and vertebrae, and the tissue origins of back pain.  Techniques include mechanical tissue testing, movement analysis, and immunohistochemical analyses of spinal tissues.
• Dr Trish Dolan   Research interests include biomechanics of the spine, especially in relation to vertebral osteoporosis, and sensorimotor function of back and neck muscles.  Techniques include in-vitro mechanical testing, micro-CT analysis of vertebrae, and in-vivo functional assessments using electromyography and motion analysis.
• Dr Cathy Fuller  Musculoskeletal disease - specifically osteoarthritis, particularly in the horse and dog.
• Dr Jenny McNamara  Early osteoarthritis in the horse, particularly cytokine expression and microscopic profile.
• Dr Mo Sharif  Research interests include mechanisms of cell death in articular cartilage, the role of chondrocyte apoptosis in osteoarthritis, and the application of biomarkers to study osteoarthritis and other joint diseases. Techniques include immunohistochemistry, ELISAs, DXA and mico-CT to monitor the changes in joint tissues during the development and progression of osteoarthritis both in humans and in an animal model that develops the disease naturally.
• Dr Glenn Wakley  Treatments for osteoporosis, and the effects on bone of interactions between sex hormones.