Home Games for people with MSK conditions

Home Games launched to promote physical activity for people with MSK conditions

The We Are Undefeatable campaign has launched the Home Games – a virtual event and training schedule modelled on a decathlon – for people living with long-term health conditions to take part in each week.

Led by Paralympians Dame Sarah Storey and Lauren Rowles MBE, two teams were taken through 10 weeks of training, culminating in a fun head-to-head competition where participants could see how far they had come.…

Read more of this article

New booklet: Medicines in JIA

NRAS is pleased to announce the launch of its new JIA booklet Medicines in JIA. The focus of the booklet is on the medicines that are used to treat JIA, but it also contains information about what parents and young people with JIA can expect at every stage from diagnosis to ongoing long-term care, showing that medicines are only one part of treatment.

The new booklet can be ordered or downloaded for free from the JIA website.

NRAS Upcoming Events:

  • Thurs 1st July, 4pm – Facebook Live: COVID and Inflammatory Arthritis Update with Prof.


Read more of this article

BackCare’s pain management webinar

The basis of the webinar was to provide a closer insight into back pain whatever the cause and to evaluate alleviating back pain from three different angles, these being: therapies, minimally invasive surgery and medication, with each area represented by an expert in the field.

Dr Brian Hammond PhD, Vice President of the National Back Pain Association (more commonly known as BackCare) discussed therapies; Dr Basil Almahdi, Consultant Pain Specialist analysed surgery and minimally invasive treatments of problems caused by degenerative spinal disease; and Dr Anthony Ordman, past president of the pain medicine section of the Royal Society of Medicine, reviewed medicines with a special interest in cannabinoids.…

Read more of this article

Post-viral fatigue after COVID

It is estimated that one in 10 people still have symptoms 12 weeks after falling ill with COVID-19. Experts at BASRAT have compiled this infographic to aid recovery from Long COVID and post-viral fatigue.

Experts at BASRAT have compiled this infographic to aid recovery from Long COVID and post-viral fatigue.

The infographic includes the latest knowledge and input from Graduate Sport Rehabilitators working with COVID patients. The content and terminology has been tailored to help patients and reinforce confidence that the fatigue they experience is manageable and treatable.

New video: How to self-examine for tender and swollen joints in rheumatoid arthritis

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the delivery of healthcare services, creating challenges for healthcare professionals and people living with musculoskeletal conditions. Patients are increasingly required to monitor their own disease activity and report on their condition during remote or virtual consultations.

To address this, the Centre for Epidemiology Versus Arthritis has been working on the REmote MOnitoring of Rheumatoid Arthritis (REMORA) study. REMORA is a smartphone app study that encourages people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to monitor and record their daily symptoms.…

Read more of this article

NICE to develop Interventional Procedures Guidance

NICE is developing Interventional Procedures Guidance: Supercapsular percutaneously assisted total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis IP1842.

Hip osteoarthritis can cause pain, stiffness and difficulty walking. Standard surgery to replace the joint (total hip arthroplasty) involves cutting tendons and muscles and pulling the hip joint apart to insert the new metal joint. In this procedure, a small cut is made in the skin (percutaneous). Muscles and tendons are moved apart to access the hip joint. A metal joint is inserted without fully pulling the hip joint apart (supercapsular).…

Read more of this article

RA disease not treated with advanced therapies

RA disease impact in patients not treated with advanced therapies; survey findings from the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society

by NRAS

Recently NICE published a Final Appraisal Document in respect of a new JAK inhibitor (filgotinib –  Jyseleca) giving access to people with RA who have so called ‘moderate’ disease in addition to those with ‘severe’ disease. This is the first time NICE have broadened their eligibility criteria for access to advanced therapies and is warmly welcomed by NRAS. This comes at the same time as a paper published by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (P.…

Read more of this article

COVID-19 vaccination and MSK

ARMA BSR BOA RAIRDA

Principles for COVID-19 Vaccination in Musculoskeletal and Rheumatology for Clinicians

(Version 12, 12 September 2022)

Amendment 12th September 2022: Document updated to include latest JCVI and NHSE guidance regarding autumn boosters using second generation bivalent COVID-19 vaccines and results of VROOM study (see section 23 and section 24 respectively)

Amendment 3rd April 2022: Document updated to include latest JCVI and NHSE guidance regarding spring 2022 boosters (see section 22)

Amendment 3rd December 2021: Document updated to include latest JCVI guidance regarding boosters for patients who were eligible for a third primary dose (see end of section 21)

Amendment 13 October 2021: Document updated to include revised BSR wording about third primary dose (section 20).

Read more of this article

Making Moves with Didy Veldman, leading International Choreographer

Recently, NRAS members who signed up took part in a dance and movement programme for people living with RA with leading International Choreographer, Didy Feldman, over Zoom, with Didy leading from the Royal Ballet School.

Dutch-born Didy Veldman trained as a ballet and contemporary dancer in Amsterdam. She danced professionally for fourteen years and began choreographing in 1987. She has created new works nationally and internationally for Birmingham Royal Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the Royal Ballet School in London, to name but a few.…

Read more of this article