Digi4MSK

30/09/2025

We’ve just returned from Milan, where all Digi4MSK partners gathered for our 5th project meeting! 🇪🇺

This marks the beginning of the final stretch — the moment where tools, courses and digital content start reaching the people who need them most. 💬📱

Catch up on what we’ve achieved so far and what’s next for Digi4MSK:
👉 https://digi4msk.eu/progress-purpose-and-people/

Zaragoza hosts the fourth progress meeting of the European Digi4MSK project

26/09/2025

Final part of the fifth project progress meeting. It was a very busy day, during which we reached many important agreements that will allow us to meet the necessary milestones and indicators.

26/09/2025

We're in Milan with all the project partners for the fifth progress meeting. We have a year left before the project is complete. We have a lot of work and many milestones to reach in the coming months.

12/08/2025

🧠 Chronic pain is never “just pain”.

It’s a complex condition that affects nearly 1 in 5 people worldwide, and often doesn’t come alone.

🔍 Many individuals with chronic pain also live with comorbidities — such as obesity, diabetes or hypertension — which amplify disability, complicate treatment, and reduce quality of life.

👉 Around 40% of people with chronic pain also suffer from depression or anxiety, which can increase their perception of pain and limit their function.

💡 That’s why a biopsychosocial approach is essential.

🎯 The most effective interventions don’t just treat physical symptoms. They combine education, movement and digital tools. For example:

- The GLA:D program, focused on neuromuscular exercise and education for people with osteoarthritis and low back pain, has shown real improvements in pain, function and reduced reliance on medication.

- Mobile health apps have also proven to improve adherence to treatment, reduce catastrophizing, and support long-term behavior change.

📲 In fact, over 90% of digital interventions report better adherence, thanks to features like reminders, interactive guidance and accessible health education.

🔗 The takeaway? Chronic pain requires more than pills.

It calls for an integrated, person-centered model that addresses the mind, the body, and how we live.

14/07/2025

🎯 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲?
⚠️ Most people trust the health information they find online. But what if much of it wouldn’t even get a passing grade?

🔎 Within the DIGI4MSK project, we analysed the actual quality of online content related to musculoskeletal pain using the DISCERN tool, which evaluates whether health information about treatments is clear, balanced and evidence-based.

📉 Here’s what we found:
▪️ Overall content quality: 2.76 out of 5
▪️ Quality of information about treatments: only 2.26 out of 5
This means that many of the top search results fail to meet even the basic standards of scientific communication. In some cases:
▪️ They omit crucial information about risks and alternatives
▪️ They promote questionable solutions
▪️ They don’t reference trustworthy sources

💡 While users appreciate simplicity and speed, scientific rigour often takes a back seat.

DIGI4MSK researchers identified three critical needs:
1. Boost health-related digital literacy
2. Produce clear, high-quality content reviewed by professionals
3. Ensure that evidence-based information is also the most visible
🎯 Because access without quality is just an illusion.

08/07/2025

🎯 How do people search for information about musculoskeletal pain?

🧠 What would you do if your back started hurting persistently?

Chances are, you’d do what 84% of people across Europe do: type the question into Google.

📊 As part of the DIGI4MSK project, we analysed how people search for information related to musculoskeletal health in five countries (Spain, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, and Austria).

The most common search topics were:
▪️ Causes of pain
▪️ Severity of symptoms
▪️ Available treatments
▪️ How to relieve pain

📲 Interestingly, 87.6% of respondents said they were satisfied with the information they found — not necessarily because it was scientifically accurate, but because it was quick to find, easy to read, and visually appealing.

🔍 What do users value the most?
✅ Information that appears to come from trustworthy sources
✅ Clear, understandable language
✅ Easy and fast access to answers

This reveals an urgent challenge for the health communication community: accessible content is not always reliable content.

📌 And what happens when decisions are made based on the first results that show up — regardless of their quality?

👉 We’ll address that in the second part of this analysis on 14 July.

01/07/2025

📢 We can't treat what we don’t teach.

A new study shows huge gaps in how pain is taught in Europe’s health education programmes. From medicine to psychology, future professionals aren’t getting the training they need to understand and manage pain—especially chronic conditions.

🎓 It’s time to raise the bar.

Swipe through to see why better pain education is essential for better care.

25/06/2025

🧠 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥.

Not everyone experiences or expresses pain the same way. In musculoskeletal conditions—like back pain, arthritis or chronic injuries—health literacy becomes a key factor in how patients interpret their diagnosis and manage their treatment.

But here’s the problem: not all patients have the same tools to understand what’s happening to them.

🔸 Some don’t speak the same language as their healthcare provider.

🔸 Others come from environments with limited access to health education.

🔸 Many have beliefs about pain shaped by culture or life experience.

If we ignore this, we risk offering care that’s disconnected from the real lives of those who need it most.

💡 Health literacy is not just about giving more information. It’s about:

▪️Using simple, clear language.

▪️Making sure patients actually understand what we’re saying.

▪️Detecting cultural, emotional or social barriers that might block self-management.

Empowering patients to take care of their health starts with understanding how they understand.

At DIGI4MSK, we advocate for a more inclusive and context-aware approach to pain care. Because equity in communication is a prerequisite for equity in treatment.

21/06/2025

🧠💪 Today, June 21, we join the global call for awareness on World ALS Day.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progressively affects motor neurons — limiting movement, speech, and breathing — but never the courage or dignity of those who live with it.

At DIGI4MSK, we advocate for more than just visibility — we support a multidisciplinary approach to care, where active self-management and health education are essential to improving quality of life.

Because empowering patients with knowledge and tools is just as vital as medical treatment.

🟣 More research.
🟣 More support.
🟣 More understanding.
🟣 More collaboration across disciplines.

Because communication is also care.

17/06/2025

🧠💬 How do you explain pain to someone who’s suffering from it?

At Digi4MSK, we’ve seen firsthand how a single word can change everything. From fear to hope, from confusion to clarity.

Musculoskeletal pain isn’t just a physical issue—it’s a communication challenge too.

This carousel is a reminder that behind every diagnosis there’s a person. Let’s talk in a way that helps them move forward.

12/06/2025

🔎 Is the most visited online health information really helping people make informed decisions?

That’s the question we asked in Phase 3 of the DIGI4MSK project.

As part of our ongoing work to improve musculoskeletal health communication across Europe, we analysed the top-ranked websites people encounter when searching for back pain, neck pain, knee problems and other common MSK conditions.

📊 A panel of healthcare professionals assessed 306 sources from several countries using the DISCERN tool—a validated questionnaire designed to evaluate:

• How clearly treatments are explained
• Whether risks and benefits are addressed
• If references are cited and up-to-date
• The overall usability and reliability of the information

🔍 The results?
The average reliability score was just 2.76 out of 5. Many sites lacked clear explanations of treatment risks or consequences of no treatment. The findings show a clear need to improve both the accuracy and clarity of online health information.

👉 You can now read the full analysis in our new deliverable: Deliverable 2.1 – Phase 3: Evaluating the quality of the most visited sources.

https://digi4msk.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DIGI4MSK-D2.1-1.0.pdf

Let’s work together to make health literacy and evidence-based information a right—not a privilege.