Partner in Focus: Helen Jentz, CEO Musculoskeletal Health Australia (MHA)

We spoke with Helen Jentz, CEO Musculoskeletal Health Australia (MHA), who discusses the mission for all Australians to live free from the negative impacts of musculoskeletal disease.

What is the vision of Musculoskeletal Health Australia (MHA)?

Most people know about arthritis and osteoporosis. The majority of us know someone whose life is negatively affected by the pain and disability that comes with having these diseases. But when you learn there are actually over 150 diseases that fall under the rheumatological musculoskeletal disease (RMDs) umbrella, I think you can get a sense of the enormity of the problem. These diseases include back pain, fibromyalgia, gout, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. These are not the diseases of ‘old people’ as many believe. These are diseases that can affect anyone at any age and can have lifelong negative impacts on all aspects of people’s lives.

Musculoskeletal Health Australia is the only national organisation dedicated to addressing the full spectrum of RMDs and the chronic pain and disability that comes with living with these diseases. But more than that, we are the only organisation that prioritises supporting Australians to make their musculoskeletal health a top priority.

Our goal is that by 2050 all Australians will live free from the negative impacts of musculoskeletal disease. How we do this is through knowledge, choice and connection. Empowering consumers, working with leading clinicians and researchers and actively pursuing strategies across all levels of government to make Australia’s musculoskeletal health a top priority. MHA is dedicated to making what are often invisible diseases, visible and improving the lives of all those affected by these diseases — individuals, families and communities.

What are some of the challenges you face?

Over seven million Australians are directly affected by musculoskeletal disease. That does not take into account the negative impacts these diseases have on carers, families and communities which would increase the number of people affected significantly.

The challenge with musculoskeletal disease is that a) it is often invisible and b) unlike other diseases, it does not have a direct and immediate link with mortality. What most people don’t realise is that when your musculoskeletal health is affected your entire life is impacted. The likelihood of developing other diseases that do have higher rates of mortality increases. Your ability to simply function in terms of your day-to-day life — things like dressing by yourself, doing household chores, being able to work and earn a living, and maintaining social connections are all negatively impacted. A really good example of this is that back pain is the leading cause of disability and early retirement globally.

Despite the physical, mental, social and economic impacts these diseases have most people aren’t even aware of how important their musculoskeletal health is.

In a nutshell, it’s why MHA continues to wage this battle in spite of all the challenges. Through awareness and understanding comes empowerment and action. We are determined to support people who are, day in and day out, navigating the insidious pain, disability and life changing impacts of these diseases. To empower all Australians to work towards having the best musculoskeletal health they can which in turn will have a direct and positive impact on their overall health, wellbeing and ultimately reduce their risk for developing other, life-threatening conditions.

Can you explain one of your organisation's recent innovations?

Being a fully self-funded not for profit, MHA is well versed at being creative, innovative and, all about providing free services and support to people who need it most.

It’s hard to select just one of our recent innovations to tell you about! From our annual national campaign where we make SIT happen through The World’s Biggest Sit-In to our current program of developing online and app-based tools that will deliver tailored support to empower individuals to prioritise their musculoskeletal health, we are focussed on delivering free services and support for all Australians.

But if I have to choose one, we are incredibly proud of our national B.A.M Helpline (1800 263 265). B.A.M stands for Back pain, Arthritis and Musculoskeletal health. This is the only free national helpline in this area, staffed by health care professionals including registered nurses and physiotherapists.

The Helpline is about empowering consumers. Our B.A.M health care professionals connect, inform and support people to navigate the complexities and challenges that come with living with a musculoskeletal disease. But more than this, the B.A.M Helpline puts the power in consumers hands to understand and manage their musculoskeletal health and use this to drive positive outcomes for their overall health and wellbeing.

What is most valuable about your partnership with Healthdirect Australia?

Being privileged enough to be a Healthdirect Australia partner provides MHA with a platform and support to continue to work towards achieving real and lasting impact on Australia’s musculoskeletal health.

Being recognised as a trusted, reliable source of quality, evidence-based information and support is amplified through our partnership with Healthdirect Australia. Given Healthdirect Australia is a recognised and trusted source of information, MHA has a platform to reach further, scale up our support, broaden our coverage and have real and meaningful impact.

With Healthdirect Australia, MHA is having a real, lasting and positive impact. We are empowering people, families and communities to understand musculoskeletal health, to take charge of its management and care and to take action to make it a top priority each and every day.