http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/msklab/

Figures show that around 8.5 million people in the UK have Osteoarthritis (OA), which is the most common cause of chronic pain and costs the country an estimated £5.5 billion a year directly and indirectly. OA can be onset by a number of factors: hereditary, developmental, metabolic, and mechanical - just the way in which we walk can have huge consequences on the wear and tear of hip and knee joints.

It is on the Charing Cross campus that Professor Justin Cobb leads the MSk Lab. Together with Professor Alison McGregor, he runs a group that has close links with the rest of the Musculoskeletal Network in College. The main areas of focus for the MSk Lab are;

•• Early identification, treatment and prevention of OA as part of the ￡12m Wellcome EPSRC centre

•• Gait in health and disease, including elite athletes and rehabilitation in the fully equipped Gait lab

•• Motor control of the trunk and limbs in sport and disease in the neuro-science lab

•• Joint Analysis using 3D software forensic analysis and detailed planning

•• Bone quality and health developing metrics for bone quality and fracture prevention

•• Surgical skills and health economics robotics, navigation, and patient matched instrumentation in training and practice