NRP 53

In Switzerland, musculoskeletal complaints account for approximately 30% of all consultations with physicians. Musculoskeletal disorders are also the leading cause of early disability benefits. Osteoporosis, arthritis and arthrosis as well as bone fractures, chronic muscular or back pain and whiplash injuries are all musculoskeletal disorders.
Taking medical problems of this kind as the starting point, NRP 53 follows up-to-date approaches to medical and biomedical research, which seek not only to discover the causes of diseases, but also to focus on health promotion and prevention. With that priority, NRP 53 also aims to provide federal and cantonal authorities with a scientific evidence basis for designing future prevention and intervention programs.

NRP 53 focuses on two main research issues:

  • What causes the extremely wide variability of musculoskeletal health status within the Swiss population, and, based on that, what measures can prevent the loss of musculoskeletal integrity?
  • What are the mechanisms of musculoskeletal chronic pain, and how can we develop new treatment strategies?
There are thus numerous aspects that the research projects under NRP 53 must investigate. The projects
  • analyse musculoskeletal health status in the Swiss population, taking into consideration sociological, psychological, economic, legal and ethical aspects (Module 1).
  • identify external factors (workplace, lifestyles, the environment) that cause musculoskeletal disorders and injuries or promote musculoskeletal health (Module 2).
  • discover the extent to which genetic factors determine musculoskeletal health and pathology (Module 3).
  • conduct intervention studies designed to promote musculoskeletal health for high-risk groups in the population and examine the associated ethical, legal, psychological, sociological and economic factors (Module 4).
  • analyse the mechanisms of chronic pain from an interdisciplinary perspective and study the factors in the transition from acute to chronic pain in the musculoskeletal system (Module 5).
  • develop new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain (Module 6).
A budget of CHF 12 million has been appropriated to fund this interdisciplinary, five-year research programme (2004 to 2009).