MSK & Arthritis News

Bone and Joint Week – 12-20 October 2020

Good musculoskeletal health – now more than ever

What is Bone and Joint Week?

Every October, Bone and Joint Week helps get people thinking about one of the most widespread and pressing health issues of our times – musculoskeletal health and, in these unprecedented times, good musculoskeletal health is so important, now more than ever.  

The coronavirus covid-19 pandemic changed the roadmap for achieving good musculoskeletal health. During covid-19, cancelled treatments, limited access, increased waiting times in pain, lockdown effect on mental wellbeing, exercise and weight-gain were all obstacles to good musculoskeletal health.…

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NICE: Chronic Primary Pain draft guideline

Consultation deadline 14 September 2020

A new draft guideline, Chronic pain in over 16s: assessment and management, published by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is open for consultation until 14 September 2020.

The consultation recommends that people over 16 should not be offered medication to manage chronic primary pain, including opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, benzodiazepines, local anaesthetic/corticosteroid combinations, paracetamol, ketamine and corticosteroids.

The draft guidance recommends the non-pharmacological management of chronic primary pain, including supervised exercise programmes and psychological therapies.…

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New Video for South Asian Communities about COVID-19

For some time now NRAS and their Health Professional Medical Advisor in this field, Dr. Kanta Kumar, (Lecturer at the University of Birmingham), have wanted to be able to provide a tailored service and support for the UK South Asian population. One of NRAS’s long term strategic aims is to make our services more visible, relevant and accessible to those who need them most, particularly those communities who, for reasons of language, culture and/or health literacy skills may be less able to negotiate about their healthcare needs or successfully navigate the health system.…

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The Good Boost Home App

Responding to the pandemic with co-design to create digital solutions.

Good Boost is a social enterprise which transforms public swimming pools into therapeutic spaces for people living with MSK conditions. We create individually-tailored aquatic rehabilitation programmes using AI-powered software on waterproof tablets. We’ve been developing rehabilitation technology for the last 5 years since starting up as a community research project in Oxford, UK.

“We’re working to make sure we continue supporting people living with MSK conditions while minimising risk of transmission” Ben Wilkins, CEO.…

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Guest blog: Dancing on the Rusty Brown Carpet

by Victoria Wells, a personal reflection about a new play with a theme of dancing for health – how a work of theatrical art relates to my experience of joint replacement surgery, pre-operative rehab, post-op rehabilitation and a lifetime of dancing.

On 3 October 2020, a play by Fiona Hamilton will be screened for the first time.
My experience contributed to one of its main characters.

As a child I enjoyed dancing and getting lost in the rhythm. I was born with hip dysplasia that was not diagnosed until mid-childhood and, as a result, I walked with constant pain.…

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Pain in the …Big toe

by Anthony Maher. BSc Hons, MSc, FCPodS, Clinical Lead Consultant Podiatric Surgeon, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

A lot of the time we pay little attention to our feet, that is until something goes wrong. Most of us, luckily, will only occasionally experience foot pain sometime in our life, but for some that pain can be significant, causing pain when walking, limiting choice of footwear and even reducing activity or increasing the risk of falls.

The big toe joint or 1st metatarso-phalangeal joint is one of the most common areas of the foot to become painful (Gilheany, Landorf, & Robinson, 2008; Maher & Kilmartin, 2011).…

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ESCAPE-pain: using education and exercise to support people with chronic joint pain

Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) has worked with ESCAPE-pain and the Health Innovation Network to develop two e-learning resources, aimed at helping healthcare professionals and exercise instructors understand the principles behind the ESCAPE-pain programme – facilitating group education and exercise sessions for people living with chronic joint pain and learning how the programme may be implemented in their organisation.

What is the ESCAPE-pain programme?

ESCAPE-pain is an evidence-based and cost-effective group rehabilitation programme for people with chronic joint pain.…

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Lived experience, equality and prevention

Whatever anyone may claim, the NHS has been, and still is, completely overwhelmed by the impact of Covid-19. Across the board MSK services are struggling. Meeting the targets of 90% elective procedures and 100% of outpatient appointments by October is not easy. Lots of things will be required – efficient pathways, appropriate use of digital, increases in support for self-management. Three things I feel must be included are lived experience, a focus on equality and prevention.

I’ve been privileged to be part of the Lived Experience Group which informs all aspects of NHS England work on MSK services post-Covid.…

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