ARMA is the umbrella body providing a collective voice for the arthritis and musculoskeletal community in the UK.
Together, ARMA and its member organisations work to improve quality of life for around 10 million people in the UK with these conditions.
We aim to foster co-operation between charities and professional organisations, working to enhance understanding and mutual support between individuals and organisational bodies.
Musculoskeletal and Arthritis News
New Member: The British Acupuncture Council
Professional Standards Authority accreditation for the British Acupuncture Council The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) is delighted to be a new member of ARMA and is looking forward to contributing to ARMA going forward. BAcC has a membership of around 3,000 professionally qualified acupuncturists. It is the UK's largest professional/self-regulatory body for the practice of traditional acupuncture. Acupuncture has been recognised by NICE for lower back pain, and there is an excellent evidence base for acupuncture and MSK conditions as well as for ...
FibroAction Recruiting - First Chief Exec
FibroAction moving to the next level and recruiting its first Chief Exec ARMA member FibroAction are seeking to recruit someone for the new and exciting role of Chief Executive of FibroAction. FibroAction is almost entirely volunteer based and this is the first salaried role within the organization. Since the charity was founded in 2008, it has mainly been run by one of its founders, Lindsey Middlemiss. Lindsey announced last year that she would be stepping down from day-to-day operation of the charity ...
Workout at Work Day 2013
Last minute sign-up for Workout at Work Day 2013... CSP members have just hours left to sign up for this year’s Workout at Work Day, with registration closing at 5pm on Friday 17 May. More than 250 events involving over 600 members have been registered for Workout at Work Day, which takes on 12 June. But we still want more members to get involved and encourage people in workplaces across the UK to develop healthier work habits. The CSP is also encouraging members ...
Arthritis Care Week and Chat4Change
On Monday 13th May Arthritis Care will launch Arthritis Care Week, with the strapline something can always be done. AC will be asking people what their “something” was - that first step that got them started in trying to manage their arthritis, rather than letting it manage them. There will be a variety of events taking place throughout the regions to publicise ACW, including displays and talks on how to manage the condition, and a professional Lecture at the Scottish Parliament ...
EULAR PARE e-Breakthrough Newsletter edition 3
Dear EULAR member organisations of PARE, EULAR are delighted to share the 3rd edition of the EULAR PARE e-Breakthrough Newsletter with you today! Please find it as a pdf attachment with lots of news and reports around the work of the EULAR Standing Committee of PARE and other EULAR activities. Please share it widely within your organisation and with other key stakeholders. If you have any comments or feedback we would be very happy to receive this - also, if you would like ...
From John Wright of ARMA Birmingham
Dear All, As convenor for the Birmingham group I had the pleasure of attending the BSR conference at the ICC Birmingham and being able to assist on the ARMA stand there. I met many interesting people and made new contacts which I hope will be beneficial to our group, it was also good to meet members of ARMA network groups from all over the country.In all the whole event was first class and well worth the effort to attend. June the 24th ...
Call for Evidence - Policy and Support Services
Policy Exchange (a non-partisan educational charity) have launched a ‘call for evidence’ – joining up employment support and welfare in the UK. To find out more please click here. The closing date is 3rd June 2013. Joining up employment support and welfare in the UK Policy Exchange values the opinions of business leaders, charities, academics, NGOs, civil servants and other experts. We constantly engage with relevant organisations and individuals during the course of our research. We have launched a ‘call ...
RA Week and an Emotional Publication
Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Week The first RA Awareness Week in the UK will be taking place between the 24th and 30th June and planning is now well underway. The theme for the week is that young people get RA too and we want to dispel the myth that RA is a disease of the elderly caused by a lifetime of wear and tear. Instead we want to emphasise that it is an autoimmune disease with no age barriers. NRAS has designed ...
World Lupus Day 2013
May 10th is World Lupus Day For World Lupus Day this year, LUPUS UK will be launching the first in a short series of video clips that feature interviews of people with lupus talking about their experiences. This first video clip highlights the difficulties many people with lupus face in obtaining a diagnosis and will be available to watch on the homepage of the LUPUS UK website from Friday May 10th www.lupusuk.org.uk In addition to this, LUPUS UK will be; Sending out a ...
New ARMA Member: Ehlers-Danlos Support UK
Introducing ARMA’s newest member: Ehlers-Danlos Support UK EDS UK was founded in 1987 to support and educate all those living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The organisation produces literature, DVDs and merchandise to increase the understanding in managing this condition. They supply education and resources for the medical community and fund research. Raising awareness in this area is important as Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. This enables better care and improvement when treating the condition. Ehlers-Danlos Support UK provides a membership package that ...
World AS Day & GP Awareness
GP Awareness Campaign takes a huge leap forward The next stage of NASS GP awareness campaign was launched at the British Society for Rheumatology conference on 23 April 2013. This is the UK's leading rheumatology event and the launch was very well attended. Meeting-in-a-Box is a CD-ROM which was jointly developed by NASS and AbbVie Ltd. It contains all the resources that rheumatologists would need to run our Back Pain Seminar. This seminar aims to improve understanding of inflammatory vs. mechanical back ...
EULAR Alerts and Congress Countdown
The EULAR Congress 2013 takes place in Madrid on Wednesday, 12 June 2013, and we are pleased to share the latest information with you. Abstract submission: 3,868 abstracts were submitted for the EULAR Congress 2013. From these, 2,996 (77%) were accepted and 872 (23%) were rejected. 320 (11%) will be orally presented, 1,820 (61%) as posters and 856 (28%) are accepted for publication only. The on-line publication of abstracts will open around mid-May on the EULAR website. Patient registration: Based on the ...
Standards of Care
Arthritis and related musculoskeletal conditions affect one in 5 people in the UK, causing pain and disability.
They can strike at any age, from infancy onwards. They cost society billions each year in health and social costs, lost employment, benefits; and they cost many individuals their independence and quality of life. There are many myths about these conditions, but the most damaging of all is the myth that nothing can be done.
Something can always be done, be it providing details of a local support group, or designing a service which means that people see the right specialist at the right time.
As part of ARMA’s Standards of Care project, a group of people with a range of musculoskeletal conditions has come together to identify what needs to happen in health services to enable them to minimise the pain and disability of arthritis, and to help people remain independent. They have suggested reasonable expectations of care and services for all people with musculoskeletal conditions.
We believe people have a right to:
- Access to appropriate services for all people with musculoskeletal conditions
- Timely diagnosis and treatment
- Information
- Services which are centered on the needs of users
- Independence and self-determination
Read more about our overarching principles for the standards of care for people with musculoskeletal conditions.