According to the Danish Health Authority's latest two reports on the burden of disease in Denmark, musculoskeletal pain is one of the disease groups that burdens citizens, the health system, and society the most.

"We must become even better at creating good courses for patients with pain in muscles and joints. Therefore, we must investigate why some treatments work on some patients and not on others. We do not understand the mechanism of action properly today, and therefore it is important with more research in this area," says David Høyrup Christiansen, who is a trained physiotherapist and is also research director at Hospitalsenhed Midt.

As a new professor, David Høyrup Christiansen will focus research on understanding patient progress to optimize the treatment of pain in muscles and joints and create solutions that originate from practice.

"We also need to look more closely at the organization of the treatment. We need to be able to provide the right effort in diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation at the right time. Therefore, we need to develop new models for how we ensure this, and it needs to take place across professional groups and sectors," he says.

The new professorship is a shared position between Health and Hospitalsenhed Midt.

Contact

Professor, Research Director and Physiotherapist David Høyrup Christiansen
Aarhus University, Institute for Clinical Medicine and
Hospitalsenhed Midt, Silkeborg Regional Hospital - Center for Planned Surgery
Phone: 21688431
E-Mail: dhch@clin.au.dk