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ARMA Newsletter February 2020

2020 brings Positivity, Optimism and Teamwork

MSK health – not just doctors and nurses
by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA
I’ve read a few things about how hard it is to get going after the festive break, or “blue Monday” part way through January, rumoured to be the most depressing day of the year. I’ve had a very different experience this year with a positive start to 2020. January has involved conversations and planning for our 2020 activities. Lots of positivity from members and stakeholders means I’m optimistic and looking forward to a successful year.…
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Guest blog: A Decade of Real Change

Guest blog: A Decade of Real Change
by Clare Jacklin, Chief Executive, NRAS
I heard a good joke during the Christmas break –
  • Question: What do you think next year will bring?
  • Answer: How would I know…? I don’t have 2020 vision!
Albert Einstein is widely credited with saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” …
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ARMA roundtable on Pain

ARMA roundtable on Pain
In October 2019 ARMA held a roundtable bringing together people working on chronic pain from a range of perspectives to discuss what might be done to improve the experience of people living with chronic pain.

Around 10–14% of people (6 – 8 million) experience moderate to severely disabling pain. Currently services and support for these people are difficult to access. Whilst not all chronic pain is musculoskeletal, osteoarthritis and back pain are associated with over half of all chronic pain, so that the lack of support is a key issue for us. The report of the roundtable sets out the key points made during the discussion of the issues and possible solutions, case studies of good practice and recommendations for action.…
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Webinar - What everyone working with back pain needs to know about Cauda equina syndrome

Friday 21 February 2020, 12.30pm
Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a rare condition and delays in diagnosis can have devastating and life changing consequences for patients and result in high cost negligence claims. This webinar will be of interest to any health professional treating patients with low back pain, particularly those seeing this patient group in pre-surgical settings. We will cover:
  • Definition of Cauda Equina Syndrome
  • Presenting signs and symptoms
  • Examination for CES
  • Evidence relating to CES
  • Pathways of Care
  • Medico-legal issues relating to CES
Register for the webinar here.
Thanks to the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists for supporting this webinar. For more information about the MACP and how to join visit https://www.macpweb.org/.

Member Posts

Third APPG for Axial Spondyloarthritis

Third APPG for Axial Spondyloarthritis

The third meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Axial Spondyloarthritis took place on 29 January at Portcullis House in Westminster. The meeting focussed on the delay to diagnosis and included the launch of our Freedom of Information Inquiry report.…
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iO research and reports

Institute of Osteopathy research reports

The iO has recently published additional reports, including the impact of Multidisciplinary management of low back pain and sciatica in primary care. This impact report provides an overview of the Plymouth Community Back Pain Service which has delivered a sustainable primary care service with measurable outcomes…
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Raynaud's Awareness Month February 2020

Sign up to HMSA e-news

As detailed in their latest e-news bulletin, this February HMSA will be involved in Marfan Awareness, Raynaud’s Awareness, and at the end of the month, #HMSAaware incorporating Rare Disease Day. Sign up to the HMSA e-news bulletin for more via the www.hypermobility.org website; there's a subscription form at the bottom of every webpage.
Health Matters on the benefit of physical activity

Health Matters on the benefit of physical activity

Health Matters is a Public Health England publication containing facts, resources and information on major public health issues for public health professionals, local authorities and CCG commissioners. The edition released at the end of January 2020 focuses on physical activity for the prevention and management of long-term conditions.
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FLS-database-annual-report-square

Fracture Liaison Service database - annual report 2020

The Fracture Liaison Service Database Annual report 2020, published in January by the Royal College of Physicians, provides the third national benchmark for the performance of FLSs at the patient level. There were 58,979 of an expected 322,660 patients who sustained a fragility fracture in 2018 across England and Wales were reported on in the FLS-DB.…
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NICE QS - Rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s

NICE Quality Standard - Rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s

In January 2020, NICE published an update on the Quality Standard for rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s (QS33). This quality standard covers assessing, diagnosing and managing rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement. NICE thanked to organisations that submitted comments during the consultation period. All consultation comments were considered by the advisory committee (QSAC) …
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NICE QS - Rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s

Feedback on NICE
Behaviour change guideline

NICE is developing a guideline on Behaviour change: digital and mobile health interventions and ARMA has been invited to register as a stakeholder. Behaviour change interventions have been considered in relation to the following areas: eating patterns; physical activity; smoking; harmful drinking; sexual health; mental wellbeing. The consultation for this guideline opened on Friday 24 January. It will close at 5pm on Friday 6 March 2020.
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Spotlight on...

ARMA logo in square form

NHS extends testing of non-urgent care waiting times target changes

If you are referred for specialist non-urgent treatment, you currently should expect to be treated within a maximum waiting time of 18 weeks. Over the last year, the NHS has been reviewing this 18-week target. ARMA has been involved in the advisory group looking at this change. The NHS England board meeting on 30 January announced plans to extend the testing period for proposed changes to the 18-week elective care measure into 2020/21.
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Mental and physical health: practical ways to improve care

Mental and physical health: practical ways to improve care

Two new outputs have been published by the Q Lab and Mind on improving care for people living with both mental and physical health problems: 1) A practical guide to improving care that includes ideas, challenges to prepare for and examples to learn from. 2) A set of service principles that can be used to inform decisions about improving, designing or commissioning services …
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Health and Inactivity Conference 2020

Health and Inactivity Conference 2020

Royal Society of Medicine
30 April 2020
"Prevention is better than cure"
This conference aims to clearly articulate current evidence and provide insights on research, issues and solutions: the increasing demands on health and social care, obesity, old age, economic costs of treatment, Physical inactivity and Moving Medicine...
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ARMA Calendar

1 Feb 2020 Raynaud's Awareness Month begins
1 Feb 2020 Marfan Awareness Month begins
21 Feb 2020 ARMA Webinar: Back pain and Cauda equina syndrome
06 March 2020 NICE consultation on digital and mobile health interventions closes
30 March 2020 MSK Champions programme opens to applications
6-8 April 2020 BRS Clinical Training Course: Osteoporosis
30 April 2020 Health and Inactivity 2020 conference, RSM
26 May 2020 NICE Medical Devices Regulation applies
6-8 July 2020 Bone Research Society AGM
12-14 Nov 2020 PCRMM Society Conference
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