Arthritis News & Musculoskeletal News from ARMA's Members

BMAS Foundation Courses in Western Medical Acupuncture

FOUNDATION COURSES IN WESTERN MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE

Venues: York, Cardiff, London, Glasgow, Dublin, Northwich (Cheshire)

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

Acupuncture for BACK PAIN Course
2 March 2017 BMAS House, Cheshire

A 1 day course consisting of lectures, demonstrations and practical sessions.

The practical elements of the course involve one session on rapid assessment of low back pain, mainly aimed at practitioners who are not already experts in musculoskeletal assessment, as well as one session devoted to needling of the back and posterior hip girdle.…

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Realising the Value

A major new body of work has concluded that person-centred approaches are pivotal to improving health and care during financially restrained times.

The Realising the Value programme has conducted a thorough analysis of the evidence for person- and community-centred approaches, worked with five frontline sites across England, and published tools, recommendations and economic modelling to show how they can be successfully implemented.

Aimed at health and care system leaders, commissioners and front-line professionals, the resources from the programme conclude that person- and community- centred approaches are pivotal to improving wellbeing outcomes during financially restrained times.…

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Tackling MSK conditions in the workplace requires a joined-up approach

Guest blog by Dr Justin Varney, National Lead for Adult Health and Wellbeing, Public Health England

Musculoskeletal health issues, along with mental health issues, continue to account for the majority of sickness absence in the UK. It is estimated that 9.5 million working days are lost each year due to musculoskeletal health problems and over a third of all long-term sickness absence in England.

MSK conditions can affect people at any age and at any point in their career. One in eight people of working age in the UK have a musculoskeletal issue and the prevalence of MSK conditions in the workforce is projected to increase to affect over 7 million people by 2030, a reflection of the impact of the ageing working profile.…

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Job Vacancy – Finance and Administration Manager

NASS is looking to recruit a Finance and Administration Manager. This post is not to manage people, but to oversee all of the finance and administration functions associated with a small charity.
Working as part of a small team of six, in our Hammersmith office, no two days in this position will be the same. You will have lots of contact with members of the charity and in this key role will provide the ‘glue’ that holds the charity together.

Applications close at 5pm on 1st November 2016.…

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NASS Patients’ Choice for good health and care practice

The AS-it-is Patient Voice & Patient Choice campaign launches on 2 November 2016 in the Houses of Parliament.

It aims to:

Promote the upcoming National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Guidelines for Spondyloarthritis
Celebrate existing good practice by health care professionals
Promote written care plans

NASS believes proper implementation of the Guidelines will help to improve the current 8.5 year average delay to diagnosis for people with axial spondyloarthritis, including ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

NASS are celebrating good practice by healthcare professionals through our Patients’ Choice Awards.…

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Announcing Experts in Arthritis videos

To coincide with October’s World Arthritis Day, the U.S. Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI) has released three new animated videos. These form part of their public education Experts in Arthritis programme, an exciting element to aid in their efforts to educate the public about taking control of Arthritis.

The videos can be seen at www.ControlArthritis.org.

The goal of USBJI is to significantly increase the number of Americans who will become better educated about how to alter their lifestyle and take control of their Arthritis. …

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Wellcome Trust support PMRGCAuk’s Research Roadshows

PMRGCAuk is delighted to announce that it has been successful in a bid to the Wellcome Trust for funding to support a series of Research Roadshows. Over the next 18 months a team of members of the charity will be touring the country to bring researchers, clinicians and patients together to learn about research into PMR and GCA.

The Research Roadshows are at the planning stages at the moment but more information will be published soon.
Project Lead is Kate Gilbert.…

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RCN Rheumatology Forum Study Day 2017

The RCN Rheumatology Forum is thinking about running a study day in 2017. We’d love to know what you think of the idea, so we’ve created a short survey in order to gather your thoughts.

The link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8DK23LJ and it should take no more than three minutes to complete.

If you have any questions about using the survey, you can contact RCN Rheumatology Committee Member Polly Livermore at polly.livermore@gosh.nhs.uk

In the meantime, why not follow us on twitter at @RCNrheumforum.…

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Mediterranean diet can reduce inflammation and cartilage degradation in people with osteoarthritis

A Mediterranean diet can reduce markers of inflammation and improve knee flexion and hip rotation in people with osteoarthritis, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Kent and published in the Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging this week.

The study, commissioned by UK charity Arthritis Action, examined the effects of a Mediterranean type diet on 99 patients with osteoarthritis. Half of the participants followed a Mediterranean type diet for 16 weeks, whereas the other half continued their usual dietary behaviour.…

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We need to rethink “best treatment”

by Paul Hitchcock, Chief Executive Officer of the British Acupuncture Council

We have an ageing population. Many of that population have multiple conditions. We have already reached a situation where the provision of health and care is problematic under the current system; too many people with too many conditions with insufficient cash or workforce capacity to enable their support.

Yet the system continues to take a reductive approach to treatments and support services. Commissioners or policy makers stop services or treatments when a new innovation is proposed so that, although they can claim to be cutting edge, in reality the system provides less support to fewer people and reduces patient choice at the same time.…

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