MSK & Arthritis News

Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs – A back-care toolkit

Guest blog by Alison Trewhela, Director of the Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs Institute

Evidence-based exercise for people restricted by back pain, fearful of movement, in considerable pain, or with other illnesses and injuries, ‘Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs’ (YHLB) is a gentle 12-week mind-body exercise programme offering a potentially life-long solution.

Public Health England has recently included YHLB as one of seven evidence-based MSK options in their PHE MSK ROI Return on Investment Interventions report and online tool.…

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Guest blog: Invisible disability at work

by Jane Green BSc. (HONS) Psych., PGCE, Av.Dip. Ed. Child Development, MA Ed.  (Leadership and Management / autism)

Why did I stop working in my professional career?

Two-and-a-half years ago I medically retired. This was after years of pain following full dislocations; half-dislocations; sprains; tears in joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons; and arthritis. I received my diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome 3 (now hEDS) and associated conditions later that year.

As a child, I did have a few problems with joints and did ‘party tricks’.…

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CEO update: Magic happens.

At the end of January, I had the pleasure of experiencing an ARMA lecture for the first time. The lecture itself was excellent. No surprises there as it was delivered by Dame Carol Black speaking on musculoskeletal conditions, disability and employment. If you missed it, you can see the slides and video on the ARMA website. Twitter discussion using #MSKatwork continued into the following days. Between this and the follow-up articles on the talk (such as this one by the CSP), the audience for our message was huge.…

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ARMA Annual lecture: Dame Carol Black

Musculoskeletal conditions, disability and employment

Dame Carol Black is the outstanding expert advisor on health and work and principal of Newnham College Cambridge. Her lecture, delivered in London as part of the ARMA Annual Lecture series, was on progress to date by government, health professionals and employers on musculoskeletal conditions and their impact on employment and a person’s wellbeing.

The lecture and reception was well attended with an interesting Q&A session and lively twitter dialog using #MSKatWork.

You can watch the lecture on this page, where you can also find the accompanying slides for the presentation and photos from the event, or see the video directly via our YouTube channel.…

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HMSA e-news – Giving GPs the Tools campaign

The January edition of The Hypermobility Syndromes Association e-news is available here.

The HMSA will continue raising funds for their ‘Giving GPs the Tools’ campaign (outlined in the December ARMA newsletter) until 31st May 2018. The campaign, which will help people with heritable disorders of the connective tissue, and other hypermobility related health problems access appropriate care more easily, is allowing the HMSA to develop new information and a resources guide. The funds will also assist with the continuing development of professional training in the conditions we support.…

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EULAR Recommendations for imaging in large vessel vasculitis

ultrasound diagram

The European League Against Rheumatism, EULAR, has published a set of recommendations, which look at the use of imaging modalities in primary large vessel vasculitis, including giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis.

The recommendations are intended to advise physicians on the use of imaging modalities (including ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, computed tomography, CT, and positron emission tomography, PET) when making a clinical diagnosis of large vessel vasculitis (LVV), and when to apply imaging for monitoring of disease activity and damage.…

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NICE guideline on chronic pain: assessment and management

The final scope for the NICE Chronic pain: assessment and management guideline has now been published, along with all the stakeholder comments that were received during consultation and responses to these comments.

NICE would like to thank you for your continued involvement and interest in this guideline. The comments received during the consultation period helped us to develop and refine the scope. ARMA has been identified as a key stakeholder for this topic and will be contacted again when the draft guideline is released for consultation.…

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MSK Medicine explained in new website

The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK has launched a new website including information highlighting what Musculoskeletal (MSK) Medicine is to the public and the healthcare community. There is now a dedicated MSK webpage outlining ‘who sees musculoskeletal medicine doctors’ emphasising that Sport and Exercise Medicine specialists, with MSK skills, treat a wide range of patients from those with a common MSK condition to elite athletes. It also puts MSK Medicine in the context of the NHS and Exercise Medicine, with reference to working examples of NHS MSK services.…

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UK Gout Society at the Welsh Assembly

On 28 November 2017, the UK Gout Society joined forces with Welsh Assembly Members, doctors and other charities to help raise awareness of gout in Wales.

Speaking at the Welsh Assembly, Rhun ap Iorwerth AM, the Plaid Cymru Health Spokesperson who hosted the event, said: “The impact of musculoskeletal conditions in Wales is huge and we have a big job to limit that impact. Working together to raise awareness of gout must play a part. We know that gout is often seriously undertreated and greatly misunderstood.”…

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Portsmouth ARMA spring newsletter and Easter events

The spring edition of the Portsmouth Hospitals’ Department of Rheumatology newsletter is out.

It contains dates and details of a number of upcoming events, groups and meetings, including:

  • Funky Knit Day, a knitting event to raise awareness of Raynauds, 07 Feb 2018 – see the poster
  • Portsmouth Cream Tea & Light Music event, 4 March 2018 – see the poster
  • Portsmouth Easter Tea Dance, 24 March 2018 – see the poster

For more, open and save the spring newsletter (in PDF) here.