About the Centre
The National Centre of Excellence for Musculoskeletal Health and Work is a multidisciplinary collaboration funded by Arthritis Research UK (now Versus Arthritis) and the Medical Research Council. It was initially set up under the Directorship of Professor David Coggon, the co-applicants being Professor Karen Walker-Bone, Professor Cyrus Cooper, Professor Keith Palmer, Dr Julia Smedley, Professor Gary Macfarlane, Dr Gareth Jones, Professor Nigel Arden, Professor Stephen Bevan, Professor John Goodacre, Dr Paula Holland, Professor Anthony Bull, Professor Alison McGregor, Dr Ira Madan, Professor Alison Hammond, Professor Rob Moots, and Dr Suzanne Verstappen (more details are available under Partners). Since January 2016 the Centre has been under the Directorship of Professor Karen Walker-Bone.
The overarching aim of our work is to identify cost-effective ways to minimise the substantial adverse impacts of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace.
The Centre is coordinated by the University of Southampton (hub) with collaboration from 14 other UK academic institutions pictured.
We are committed:
- to prevent musculoskeletal ill-health caused by work;
- to improve advice on fitness to work and return to work for those who have undergone musculoskeletal surgery;
- to identify interventions to support the extended working lives of older workers, especially those with musculoskeletal disorders;
- to train a new generation of researchers with a broad range of skills.
