Musculoskeletal diseases, including osteoporosis, osteoporotic fracture, bone defects, osteoarthritis and muscle atrophy, represent a major challenge to clinical and scientific communities. Aging, menopause, lack of exercise, and long-term use of glucocorticoids are the main factors inducing musculoskeletal diseases which result in symptoms such as increased risk of falls, increased bone fragility, chronic joint pain, inflammation, stiffness, and characteristic joint damage characteristic. Such disorders can even lead to death.

The clinical treatment of musculoskeletal diseases mainly includes estrogen replacement therapy, diphosphonate, calcium supplement, active vitamin D, and anti-inflammatory drugs. These chemical drugs are accompanied by some adverse reactions. It should be noted that there are no effective drugs for the treatment of muscular atrophy in clinical settings. Following the approval of Youyou Tu's Nobel prize, Chinese medicine has received worldwide attention. Although traditional Chinese medicine has a unique effect on musculoskeletal diseases, there are few Chinese medicines that can be used in clinical practice.

In this Special Issue, we encourage more research concerning the efficacy evaluation of active ingredients or extracts from Chinese herbs on musculoskeletal diseases. In order to verify their efficacy and safety, the use of rats, zebrafish, bone cells, muscle cells, or multiple model organisms in the evaluation is encouraged. For extracts, innovative advanced quality control means are essential. We particularly welcome research that elaborates the molecular mechanism of the interaction between bone and muscle. Review articles that focus on expounding the synergistic effect of processing technology on Chinese medicine with an aim to strengthen the muscles and bones will be welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Chinese herbal compounds for treating musculoskeletal disease
• Application of sustained release preparation in bone defects
• The crosstalk between osteoporosis and muscular atrophy
• The synergistic effect of processing technology on Chinese medicine
• Quality control of effective Chinese herbs for musculoskeletal disease