Joint Action

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.

RESOURCES
Journal articles
Loss of Productivity-Adjusted Life-Years in Working-Age Australians Due to Knee Osteoarthritis: A Life-Table Modeling Approach

CONNECT WITH US
Naia Health: https://www.naiahealth.com.au/st-leonards-hub
Join one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trials
Instagram: @ProfDavidHunter
Twitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorg
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jointaction.info/podcast

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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.


RESOURCES

ThisWayUp - Online Mental Health Treatment

CONNECT WITH US
Naia Health: https://www.naiahealth.com.au/st-leonards-hub
Join one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trials
Instagram: @ProfDavidHunter
Twitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorg
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jointaction.info/podcast

If 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!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

RESOURCES
David'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 Obesity

Anne-Marie's paper
FM-dye inhibition of Piezo2 relieves mechanically evoked pain in mouse models of acute inflammatory and osteoarthritic knee pain
Association of Synovial Innate Immune Exhaustion With Worse Pain in Knee Osteoarthritis
Lipidomics unravels lipid changes in osteoarthritis articular cartilage

CONNECT WITH US

Join one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trials
Instagram: @ProfDavidHunter
Twitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorg
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jointaction.info/podcast

If 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!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

RESOURCES
MyJoint Tai Chi website
Online Unsupervised Tai Chi Intervention for Knee Pain and Function in People With Knee OsteoarthritisThe RETREAT Randomized Clinical Trial

CONNECT WITH US

Join one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trials
Instagram: @ProfDavidHunter
Twitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorg
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jointaction.info/podcast

If 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!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

RESOURCES

Youtube recording

CONNECT WITH US

Join one of our trials https://www.osteoarthritisresearch.com.au/current-trials
Instagram: @ProfDavidHunter
Twitter: @ProfDavidHunter @jointactionorg
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jointaction.info/podcast

If 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!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.