MSK & Arthritis News

BMAS Courses upcoming in 2017

FOUNDATION COURSES IN WESTERN MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE

Venues:   London, Glasgow, Dublin, Manchester

Four-day course for regulated health professionals
Experienced, medically trained lecturers
Comprehensive course notes
100 Free needles

Visit this page on our website for dates and venues.

 

British Medical Acupuncture Society Spring Conference

Venue: Hilton Hotel, Paddington, London
Saturday 20 May 2017

Price:  £155 BMAS members;   £185 non members          

 

Kajsa Landgren – acupuncture for colic in babies

Charles Buck is back – ‘The essence of needling’ will look at the place of intention and related ideas in acupuncture practice.…

Read more of this article

Whether you are an elite athlete, weekend warrior or an everyday active person the musculoskeletal care pathway for rehabilitation is the same

Guest Blog by Dr Jo Larkin, Sport and Exercise Medicine Consultant FFSEM

The knowledge and principles used to treat elite professional athletes in Sport and Exercise Medicine can be used to treat injuries occurring in the rest of the population.

The musculoskeletal (MSK) rehabilitation plan must consider the fact that the objective of the patient is to return to the same activity and environment in which the injury occurred. Functional capacity after rehabilitation should at the minimum be to at the same level, if not better, than before injury.…

Read more of this article

Musculoskeletal Services: the missing step

Last Friday, March 31st, NHS England published a significant document about the future of the NHS: Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View. The original NHS five year forward view set out why and how the NHS should change to address three issues: the health gap, the quality gap and the financial sustainability gap. The next steps updates on progress and sets out future plans.

Musculoskeletal conditions account for a major part of the workload of the NHS, 40% of which is due to potentially preventable risk factors.

…

Read more of this article

NRAS are looking for a Policy and Public Affairs Manager

Selected duties:

  • Maintaining a sustainable level of campaigning activity to raise political awareness of the needs of those with rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis working from the excellent reputation built and base of campaigning activities delivered to date
  • Organising one on one meetings with parliamentarians, ministers, civil servants, key opinion leaders, and key NHS figures to ensure that RA and JIA are prioritised amongst long term conditions
  • Monitoring the political environment and disseminating relevant information to the CEO, other colleagues and volunteers in the campaign networks as appropriate

Location: 4 The Switchback, Gardner Road, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 7RJ

For a full list of responsibilities, required qualifications and skills, and salary details click here.

UK Gout Society Parliamentary Reception

Gout: No Laughing Matter

The UK Gout Society held a parliamentary reception at the House of Commons on 28th March 2017 to launch #shoutaboutgout – a social media campaign to raise awareness about gout, a musculoskeletal disorder which now affects one in 40 people in the UK.  Nearly 60 MPs, peers and other stakeholders in the MSK space, including many ARMA members, attended the event.

Jim Shannon, MP for Strangford (Northern Ireland) and DUP Spokesperson for Health, who sponsored the event, stated: “It’s time we put the facts on the table and told people the truth about gout.”…

Read more of this article

HMSA simplify the new EDS nosology for patients and clinicians

It’s been a very busy month for the HMSA with the release of new EDS nosology. We’ve prepared some material for people unsettled by these developments in classification: a letter which can be printed and given to medical professionals explaining what the changes mean, and an update for clinicians that contains a simplification of the changes for people working in the MSK field. Both can be found on our website sidebar, appended to an interview with our HSD Ambassador, Hannah Ensor, here: hypermobility.org/hsdandme…

Read more of this article

Ironcause – 52 Middle Distance Triathlons

My name is Keith Diaper and I am 40 year old husband and father from Hedge End in Southampton. I’m an electrician and a keen triathlete.

Starting on Saturday 1st April 2017 I will be doing one middle distance triathlon every Saturday and Sunday for six months – so I will be covering 3655.6 miles in total, over 52 events. That’s about the same distance as travelling from Southampton to New York.

A Middle Distance Triathlon is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle and then a 13.1 mile run.…

Read more of this article

CEO Update March-April 2017

March has been a busy month for ARMA. I have enjoyed meeting so many ARMA members, finding out more about what you do and how ARMA fits with your current priorities. I really welcome the level of support you have offered me in my new role as I begin to get an understanding of the priorities of the MSK community.

The highlight of the month must be the three joint ARMA/NHS England regional events. These have been a huge success. All three events were over-subscribed, showing the high level of interest in improving musculoskeletal services locally.…

Read more of this article

My Message to Back Pain Sufferers

Guest blog by Dr Brian Hammond D.O.D.C Ph.D. FCC (Orth) PG Cert, Chair of BackCare

There are very many back and neck pain sufferers in the UK.  The cost to the Exchequer and industry is staggering.  In this country, about 2.5 million people experience back pain every day of the year.  Although statistics vary, treatment for back pain and disability payments as a result of back problems costs the tax payer billions of pounds a year.  As a consequence, millions of working days are lost. …

Read more of this article

The NHS Mandate 2017-18

The Government’s Mandate to NHS England for 2017-18 has been published. This sets out annual deliverables against the seven objectives to 2020. All of these objectives are relevant to musculoskeletal services, but one has been added which makes specific reference to MSK data. This is in relation to the Government’s goal to reduce the disability employment gap and says the NHS should:

“Work with Government to identify opportunities for regular collection of data about incidence, prevalence, clinical activity and outcomes of musculoskeletal patients and services in England.”…

Read more of this article