Tracey Howe

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Hi I am Tracey Howe. I am a Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University, UK and Deputy Chair of Glasgow City of Science. I am also an editor for the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Review Group and a convenor for the Cochrane Health Care of Older People Field. I am a Trustee of the Picker Institute Europe. I started my career as a physiotherapist in the National Health Service in England. I have extensive experience of assessing the quality of research in Universities in the UK and internationally. I enjoy strategic visioning, creative problem-solving, and creating vibrant, multi-disciplinary environments, through collaboration, partnerships, and relationships, that empower others to succeed.

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The Musculoskeletal Elf elfs out at 30th anniversary celebrations

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Did you know that Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) in Scotland is the home of the Musculoskeletal Elf? Well several of the MSK Elves work there or are graduates from there.  It’s a special year for the Physiotherapy team at GCU as the first intake of BSc Physiotherapy students was at GCU founding institution Queens College [read the full story…]

Painful knee osteoarthritis? What is the effect of platelet-rich plasma injections?

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We come across lots of people who have painful knees due to osetoarthritis. They are always looking for ways to reduce their pain. A relatively new treatment has emerged, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections.  PRP is an autologous (where the donor and recipient are the same person) blood product with an elevated platelet concentration. Platelet-derived growth factors regulate [read the full story…]

Is aquatic exercise training effective for fibromyalgia?

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One of our female Elf friends has fibromyalgia, a chronic condition that causes pain all over their body. Do you know that fibromyalgia affects around seven times as many women as men? The condition typically develops between the ages of 30 and 50, but can occur in people of any age, including children and the elderly. [read the full story…]

Does Pre-Operative Physiotherapy Improve Outcomes in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty?

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It is thought that pre-operative levels of knee pain, strength, flexibility and functional ability can influence the outcome of total knee joint replacement surgery. Therefore many hospitals offer pre-habilitation programmes with the aim of improving strength and range of movement of the knee with impacts on pain and function. So do these programmes work? The [read the full story…]

Health related quality of life after total hip replacement

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Do you know that over 1 million hip replacements are carried out each year? The majority of Total Hip Replacements are for people with severe arthritis of the hip that causes pain and reduction in function. We elves wanted to know for someone with osteoarthritis of the hip what are the medium term health related [read the full story…]

Does exercise improve pain and function for osteoarthritis of the knee?

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We learnt in an earlier post about the burden of musculoskeletal conditions that osteoarthritis (OA) develops around the age of 50. Blimey some of our elves are approaching that age. What can we do to help any symptoms that start to develop? We eleves are always looking to stay fit and thought that exercise might help. But [read the full story…]

What matters most for early osteoarthritis of the hip and knee?

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What questions do people in the UK think we should be working on in the area of Early Osteoarthritis of Hip and Knee. The Musculoskeletal Elf is working with The James Lind Alliance who bring together patients, carers and health and social care professionals from the UK in Priority Setting Partnerships to agree what research matters most for early osteoarthritis of the hip and knee.

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Is exercise effective for osteoarthritis of the hip for pain and function?

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In this blog, Tracey Howe considers a recent Cochrane systematic review examining whether land-based therapeutic exercise is beneficial for people with hip osteoarthritis in terms of reduced joint pain and improved physical function and quality of life.

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Exercise Therapy for Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

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In this blog, Tracey Howe considers a new systematic review that examined the literature to determine whether exercise therapy is an effective intervention to reduce pain and patient-reported measures of activity limitations and participation restrictions (PRMALP) in patients with patellofemoral pain.

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Exercise in water for osteoarthritis of the lower limbs

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In this blog, Tracey Howe considers a recent systematic review which examines the effect of therapeutic aquatic exercise on symptoms and function associated with lower limb osteoarthritis.

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