MSK & Arthritis News

iO’s Osteopathy For Health

Harnessing the power of social media to promote public health

The Institute of Osteopathy (iO) has launched a new community Facebook page ‘Osteopathy for Health’ with the aim to provide the public with useful health advice and tips to support positive lifestyle behaviours.

The iO first launched ‘Osteopathy for Health’ as web-based information, supported by a series of advice leaflets that could be distributed by osteopaths and other healthcare practitioners. The project has now evolved to utilise the power of social media to spread health and lifestyle messages on exercise, diet, getting older, sleep, and mental health on a dedicated Facebook page ‘Osteopathy for Health’.…

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Dietitians Week: What Dietitians Do

This week (3-7 June) is Dietitians Week, and the British Dietetic Association and its members are using the week to promote the breadth and depth of dietetic practice using the tagline “What Dietitians Do”. Dietitians will be sharing their own personal experiences and highlighting some of the lesser known aspects of the profession, as well as taking part in activities such as sharing their favourite recipes and tagging in other healthcare professionals or patients who are real champions for the profession.…

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Fit For the Future: a Vision for General Practice

The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has published a vision for general practice for 2030. It sees a very different place for general practice from the current model, with increased multidisciplinary working and a greater focus on prevention and well-being. This was developed with the involvement of patients, GPs and other stakeholders.

This is a response to the changing nature of health needs with more people presenting with complex and multiple conditions. The current primary care workforce is stretched and the numbers of GPs per 1,000 of population have declined by 5% in the last ten years.…

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Aspiring to Excellence programme now open for applications

Following a successful launch event at the British Society for Rheumatology Conference on 1 May, applications are now open for the Aspiring to Excellence award programme. The programme is designed to encourage and recognise service improvement in axial SpA (AS) care and is a strategic partnership between NASS, BRITSpA and sponsoring companies AbbVie, Novartis and UCB.

The deadline to apply is 31 July and all the application details can be found on the NASS website. For further information please contact [email protected]…

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Construction Roundtable report – Action is needed

Action is needed to tackle £646 million burden of bone, joint and muscle problems, a new ARMA report says.

construction-work-related-pieIndustry leaders called for action to tackle the huge burden of bone, joint and muscle conditions on people in the construction industry, in a report released today (30/05/2019). Physically demanding work means the construction industry has one of the highest rates of musculoskeletal disorders costing £646 million every year – accounting for over three-quarters of all occupational ill-health costs.

The report from the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) followed a roundtable meeting of industry leaders.…

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RSA Sustainable Health Event

Integrating Health Systems and Paradigms to Drive Culture Change

Tuesday 25 June 2019 at 18:00 – 20:00

Join the RSA Health, Care and Wellbeing Network for a conversation about the integration of health systems and paradigms to support sustainable health, hosted by Paul Hitchcock FRSA.

This event will be an opportunity to explore how the two approaches might be mutually supportive in driving the sort of culture change that we need.

This is a participative event: after an introduction from Paul there will be time to discuss the issues raised, and time for informal networking as well.…

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Call for mental health to be prioritised for musculoskeletal patients

In April 2019, ARMA, supported by UK charity Arthritis Action, released a new report looking at the impact of mental health on people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. The report followed a roundtable event, organised by ARMA in March, which, for the first time, brought together leaders from Mind, NHS England, Arthritis Action, and other health charities to look at ways to improve access to effective psychological support for MSK patients. 

roundtable-document

Sue Brown, CEO of ARMA, says:

“It’s not surprising that mental health is so common amongst people with conditions which cause long term pain.…

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MACP to call a membership vote

The Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (MACP) is shortly to call a vote of its current members to widen its membership categories in order to broaden access and strengthen the voice of musculoskeletal physiotherapy. The vote for change in membership signifies a potentially large change for the organisation and so it has consulted its membership over the past six months to determine if this is the direction the organisation wants to explore.

It recognises that training to become an MACP is one form of specialist post registration in the UK and so by broadening access through different categories it will lead to wider workforce of physiotherapists providing excellent care for people musculoskeletal conditions.…

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Musculoskeletal conditions on the national public health agenda

governemnt logoFor the first time since Public Health England (PHE) came into being, musculoskeletal conditions have been mentioned in the Government’s remit letter to PHE. PHE is the national body with responsibility for the nation’s health and wellbeing and tackling health inequalities. Each year the Government sends them a set of instructions about their priorities. In 2019/20 this specifically includes ‘work-focused musculoskeletal prevention activity’.

In 2018, PHE made musculoskeletal conditions one of its priority programmes, and so it’s great that these conditions are now taking their place on the national agenda.…

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