Arthritis News & Musculoskeletal News from ARMA's Members

ARMA Lecture recording

Delivering equitable MSK healthcare: from prevention to highly specialised care

Our annual lecture 2022 was given by Liz Lingard Delivery Partner, System Improvement, NHS England (North East & Yorkshire) followed by a panel discussion with Asim Suleman, GPwER Pain Management, and Jane Taylor, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis aged 26 and is an ARMA trustee.

Our first hybrid event asked what drives inequalities in MSK health? What can be done to address this? A recording of the event is available to watch. …

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MSK Toolkit supporting adolescents and young adults launched

The Musculoskeletal (MSK) Health Toolkit for employers and further education institutions – how to support adolescents and young adults to a better future has been launched.

There are two main aims of the toolkit:

To help employers and FE institutions understand the part they play in preventing MSK conditions;
To set out how they can support young people with chronic MSK conditions to realise their potential, thrive and remain in work or education.

The toolkit was developed in collaboration with the British Society for Rheumatology and the Society of Occupational Medicine alongside clinical experts, patient representative groups, college and university representatives and adolescents and young people themselves.…

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Versus Arthritis Cost-of-living crisis

On World Arthritis Day, Versus Arthritis sought to shine a light on the crisis people with arthritis are facing this winter — by calling on the Prime Minister to take urgent action to protect them. 

In September, Versus Arthritis surveyed almost 4,000 people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions to ask how the cost-of-living crisis was affecting them, and the results were staggering: 94% of people saying that cold weather has a negative impact on their condition, but 84% are using less fuel because of rising costs.…

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RSPH awards for Good Boost

Swim England and Good Boost won two honours in the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Awards for their Water Wellbeing programme.

The organisations were announced as winners of the Community Health Development category, followed by the Public Health Minister’s Award which is chosen from the winners of each category.

The Water Wellbeing programme focuses on improving MSK community services in swimming pools, helping make them more inclusive, accessible, and welcoming. The recognition highlights the importance of the programme in improving health and wellbeing in aquatic spaces and the value of data and measurement in delivery, read more here.

NRAS Leicester Mela Event

NRAS was proud to host the first Rheumatoid Arthritis Mela tailored for the South Asian community, which took place at Leicester Racecourse on the 13^th October 2022.

The event had a great representation of healthcare professionals and specialists from the South Asian community who kindly gave their time to share their expertise on the day.

The feedback from those attending found the event incredibly beneficial for their needs.

As with many events that are the first of their kind there has been some great learning that NRAS will take away, which will allow the organisation to better understand how to deliver these types of events for the community in the future.…

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Happy Birthday NRAS!

21 years ago in October, the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society was born.

What an amazing first 21 years it’s been for the society. From that blank piece of paper in Ailsa’s front room to the nationally and internationally acclaimed patient organisation. What will the next 21 years hold for us I wonder? So pleased we were able to mark this significant milestone in the charity’s history last month and you can watch a short montage of the proceedings.
Happy Birthday NRAS, many happy returns!…

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Another new Government

by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA

Local and national

Another new Government, another new(ish) Secretary of State for Health. From an MSK perspective, what should their priorities be? There are a few things that need to happen nationally, but my first thoughts are that we don’t now need a multitude of new government targets and promises. A lot of what is needed is local and local systems need to be given the space to deliver.

At a local level there are three things I think Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) need to do to deliver on MSK.…

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Orthopaedic Research UK and Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowship 2022

Orthopaedic Research UK and Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowship 2022

Orthopaedic Research UK is delighted to be partnering with Daphne Jackson Trust to support returners to MSK research following a career break of two years or more taken for a family, caring or health reason.

Applications are invited for a three-year Daphne Jackson Fellowship co-sponsored by Orthopaedic Research UK to be held at any UK university or research establishment.

The Fellowship is intended for orthopaedic scientists and musculoskeletal allied health professionals who want to return to their research careers.…

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ESCAPE-pain facilitator training courses

Enabling Self-management and Coping with Arthritic Pain using Exercise (ESCAPE-pain): facilitator training courses

The ESCAPE-pain programme is an evidence based, group rehabilitation programme that aims to support people living with chronic knee or hip pain, or non-specific low back pain:

ESCAPE-pain for knees and hips
ESCAPE-pain for backs

The flexibility of ESCAPE-pain means it can be delivered in a variety of locations and by a range of professionals. The programmes have been successfully delivered in outpatient physiotherapy departments, leisure centres and local community settings by physiotherapists, osteopaths, and exercise professionals.…

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Free ESCAPE-pain programme webinar

The full impact of the pandemic upon musculoskeletal health is clear, with an enormous increase in the number of people with knee, hip and back pain. This forthcoming free ESCAPE-pain together webinar is being held on Thursday 8 December 2022, 10:00 – 13:00 and brings together leisure, community and clinical commissioners and providers interested in forming collaborative partnerships to deliver ESCAPE-pain in their communities.

The webinar will also:

Present the results of a Sport England funded project delivering ESCAPE-pain in leisure and community centres.

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