MSK & Arthritis News

CEO Update, May 2017

CEO-editorial-small After the success of our first three MSK pathway events I’m pleased that planning for the next three has begun. The North West event will be in Merseyside on May 16th and is shaping up to be every bit as inspiring as the others. Two events are being planned for the South region, with the first in Exeter in July. More details should be available in our next newsletter.

I have been reading the pledge forms completed by people at the first three events and they show the commitment of people to create change in services.…

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‘A Message to my Younger Self’ campaign begins

The National Osteoporosis Society launched ‘A Message to My Younger Self’ – an awareness campaign about keeping bones strong and healthy – on 12th April which runs through World Osteoporosis Day on 20 October.

A survey conducted by the National Osteoporosis Society found four in 10 young adults have tried the fashionable ‘clean eating’ diets that often involve avoiding dairy, gluten, grain and sugar, while more than fifth had severely restricted their intake of milk and cheese. Fuelled by social media, the clean eating trend has surged in popularity in recent years, with some advocates achieving celebrity status with hundreds of thousands of followers.…

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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.…

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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.…

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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.

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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.”…

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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…

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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.…

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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.…

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