Meet Mikayla

Hello, I’m Mikayla, a 23-year-old living in rural Victoria.

I have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed with RA at 12 years old, which was so challenging. I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year.

Musculoskeletal Health Australia’s Musculoskeletal Health Awareness Month, along with the World’s Biggest Sit-In, hold great significance to me. These initiatives not only help raise awareness about musculoskeletal conditions and musculoskeletal health, but also provide opportunities to learn from health professionals throughout October, through MHA webinars.

As someone who was diagnosed with arthritis at a young age, I know firsthand how important it is to break the stigma around musculoskeletal conditions. There are lots of hardships faced when having arthritis as a young child, especially around everyday things like school. It can feel so isolating and lonely, when there aren’t people going through the same thing as you and you feel like you have no one to turn to.

Musculoskeletal Health Australia is great for providing resources, information as well as a helpline. By fostering awareness, we can help others better understand the challenges we face, particularly when navigating the healthcare system.

The World’s Biggest Sit-In (WBSI) is Musculoskeletal Health Australia’s major awareness and fundraising campaign. This initiative encourages people to get active while considering the impact arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions have on overall health and wellbeing. I love how the exercises will be online so you can partake at any time, and also go at your own pace and level. This makes it a great way to keep moving while we raise money at the same time. Then, on October 31st, everyone can join the World’s Biggest Sit-In record attempt, either in person or online, for a fun and engaging morning of chair-based exercise! I love that as a community we can come together to support one another and help raise awareness and conversation around musculoskeletal conditions.

I invite everyone to get involved in this fantastic campaign! No matter your age or ability, we can all come together to raise awareness for musculoskeletal health and learn how to better care for ourselves or our loved ones.