HEAL Initiative Whole Joint Health Program
Funds phased research that first maps the tissue mechanisms behind joint pain, then tests non-drug ways to treat it.
Joint pain affects close to half of adults in the United States, and most of what treats it looks at one tissue — bone or cartilage — in isolation. This program funds looking at the whole joint instead, muscle and connective tissue included, and then testing what that wider view suggests as treatment.
The structure is two phases inside one award. Phase 1 identifies and validates the multi-tissue …
A phased mechanistic clinical research program under the NIH HEAL Initiative: Phase 1 (2 to 3 years) identifies and validates multi-tissue mechanisms behind joint pain, spanning periarticular tissue such as muscle, adipose, ligaments, tendons and fascia alongside articular tissue and the peripheral nervous system; Phase 2 (2 to 3 years) tests non-pharmacological or multimodal interventions against those mechanisms. Total project length cannot exceed 5 years.
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