Tackling Lower Back Pain and Joint Degeneration Through Research

“Everybody has lower back pain,” begins Sharmila Majumdar, PhD, a professor, vice chair of research, and director of the Musculoskeletal Research Interest Group (RIG) at UCSF. Through her research in the Musculoskeletal RIG, Dr. Majumdar is working to determine the causes of this pain in the lower back and on solutions for reducing the number of joint replacements necessary for those with degeneration.

Through the use of imaging, Dr. Majumdar and her team of musculoskeletal researchers have sought to find specific identifiers of joint degeneration.  From there, the scientists are able to come up with approaches that inform physicians about the status of the joint pain and whether the individual is safe to return to normal activity, or, in the case of athletes, to competition in their sport.

In the accompanying video, Dr. Majumdar further elaborates on the steps of her team’s research, why they’ve been successful thus far, and how they will continue to make strides in combating lower back pain.

Learn more about the Musculoskeletal RIG and how these scientists are exploring the structures that support the human body, their role in health, and how to prevent and heal musculoskeletal damage by visiting the Musculoskeletal RIG web page.  

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