Could the shoes you wear every day be making your knee osteoarthritis better or worse? On this week's episode of Joint Action, Kade Paterson joins Professor David Hunter to explain why footwear matters for knee osteoarthritis and how to choose the best shoe for your joints.

Associate Professor Kade Paterson is a Principal Research Fellow in the Centre for Health Exercise and Sports Medicine in the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne and a leader in the field of walking and running biomechanics. His research focuses on lower limb biomechanics and injury, with expertise in how foot-based interventions and footwear influence musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis. Kade is also a certified sports podiatrist and has published extensively, contributing to over 90 peer‑reviewed papers and presenting internationally. He is an editorial board member for two international journals, is Co-Chair and inaugural steering committee member for the International Foot and Ankle Osteoarthritis Consortium, and President of Sports and Exercise Podiatry Australia.

RESOURCES

Journal articles

• The Effect of Flat Flexible Versus Stable Supportive Shoes on Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms: A Randomized Trial
• Q&A: Choosing shoes for osteoarthritis pain

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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What happens to global science when funding is cut, borders close, and collaboration is threatened? In this special episode of Joint Action, Professor David Hunter reflects on the proposed changes to research funding and collaboration threaten global science and why speaking up, supporting one another, and protecting open, rigorous research matters now more than ever.

PROVIDE FEEDBACK

• Office of Management and Budget (Open until July 13th, 2026) - Federal Register :: Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance

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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When we say a treatment works for knee osteoarthritis, it is worth asking: works for whom? On this week's episode of Joint Action, Professor Christian Barton unpacks the blind spots in osteoarthritis research, exploring who has and hasn't been included in the evidence base for first-line care, and what that means for the patients we treat every day.

Prof Christian Barton is a physiotherapist and implementation scientist at La Trobe University, where he leads key projects including GLA:D Australia and TREK. With additional training in communications and implementation science, his research focuses on bridging the gap between evidence and practice in osteoarthritis, knee, and running injury care. He also consults privately at Complete Physio Richmond.

RESOURCES

Journal articles

• Blind spots in reporting and representation in knee osteoarthritis research: A systematic review of the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 22,443 participants in randomised controlled trials of first-line care
• Who is waiting to see the surgeon? sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and previous osteoarthritis care of people with knee osteoarthritis referred to public hospitals in Victoria, Australia
• Barriers and Facilitators for the Implementation of an Osteoarthritis Management Programs in a Low-Income Setting: An Exploratory Study of Malawian Physical Therapists

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!

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This week on Joint Action, Vicky turns the tables and puts the questions to Professor David Hunter. Three listeners submitted questions spanning gut health, total knee replacement, and the frustrating gap between what the research says and what patients are actually being told in clinic.

It's a wide-ranging, honest conversation that's relevant whether you're living with osteoarthritis, working in healthcare, or simply want to understand the science better.

RELATED EPISODES

• Season 6, Episode 26: Episode Your osteoarthritis questions answered by David (Part 2)
• Season 6, Episode 25: Episode Your osteoarthritis questions answered by David (Part 1)
• Season 5, Episode 26: Your osteoarthritis questions answered by David
• Season 2, Episode 8: A chat to David and listener questions

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!

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The number of surgical procedures for musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis has increased exponentially over the past years, some of which are unnecessary and leave patients no better off than they were before. Knee replacement surgery can be a wonderful and cost-effective treatment for end-stage osteoarthritis but only when less invasive treatments have failed. There are many factors driving the alarming rates of increased surgery ranging from system-level factors such as inadequate reimbursement for physiotherapy treatment to personal-level factors such as individual beliefs and education of patients and their health care providers. Frequently referrals are made to surgeons as primary care doctors feel there is nothing more they can do. If you are referred it is important to be prepared for what that consultation will involve and to consider whether you truly want/ need surgery.

On this episode of Joint Action, we are joined by Dr Howard Luks to discuss this topic.

Dr. Howard Luks is a Board-Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine specialist. Howard graduated from New York Medical College and completed his Orthopaedic Surgery residency in 1996 and a fellowship in Sports Medicine at the Hospital for Joint Diseases in NYC in 1997. His focus is on injuries that involve the shoulder, knee, and elbow. He is the Chief of Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy at New York Medical College and Advanced Physician Services.

CONNECT WITH HOWARD

• Website: https://www.howardluksmd.com/
• Podcast: https://www.howardluksmd.com/podcast/the-paul-and-howard-show/

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
• 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!

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Can identifying the right patients and the right endpoints transform how we test new osteoarthritis treatments? On this week's episode of Joint Action, we unpack what the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium has learned so far, and how their latest phase aims to deliver biomarkers that can make disease-modifying OA drug trials smaller, faster, and more likely to succeed.

Dr. Virginia Byers Kraus is a Professor of Medicine, Pathology, and Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine. A rheumatologist and translational scientist, her research focuses on osteoarthritis and biomarker development as part of the international FNIH Biomarkers Consortium.

Peter G. Mesenbrink, Ph.D., is Executive Director of Biostatistics at Novartis and industry co-chair of the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium. With expertise in adaptive trial design, surrogate endpoint development, and data sharing policy, he is a frequent collaborator across industry, regulatory, and academic communities.

Dr. Jamie Collins is a biostatistician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. As lead statistician for the FNIH OA Biomarkers Consortium, her research focuses on strengthening osteoarthritis clinical trials through innovative trial design and prognostic enrichment.

RESOURCES

• FNIH: Treatment Response Biomarkers for Disease Modifying Osteoarthritis Drugs (DMOADs)

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!

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What does it actually mean to have 'early-stage' osteoarthritis, and does catching it sooner really make a difference? On this week's episode of Joint Action, learn more about early-stage knee osteoarthritis, how it's defined, and why the EsSKOA initiative is changing the way we identify and understand the condition in its earliest phases.

Dr. Armaghan Mahmoudian is an Assistant Professor of Movement Sciences and Health at the University of West Florida, where she teaches anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, and research methods, and co-directs the biomechanics and motor learning laboratory. As a clinician-scientist, her research focuses on understanding disease mechanisms and their impact on function and quality of life, with a particular interest in personalised medicine and disease prevention in an ageing population.

RESOURCES

• EsSKOA Initiative
• Journal article Reframing early-stage symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (EsSKOA): A strategic lens for trial design

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!

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On this week's episode of Joint Action, learn more about how knee braces work, who they help and how they can improve pain and function for people with knee osteoarthritis.

Melanie Holden is a Chartered Physiotherapist and the Professor of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation at the School of Medicine at Keele University. Her current research focuses on how to best manage musculoskeletal pain through rehabilitation using non-drug, non-surgical treatments.

Her mission is to create high-quality, innovative research that improves patient care. She is an expert in a wide range of research methods, and she involves patients and the public at every stage of her research, to ensure that it reflects real-world needs and experiences.

RESOURCES

Journal article

• Provision of knee bracing for knee osteoarthritis (PROP OA): multicentre, parallel group, superiority, statistician blinded, randomised controlled trial

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!

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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

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!

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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!

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