MSK & Arthritis News

Gloucestershire Cryotherapy trial following knee surgery

knee surgeryRecovery from knee replacement surgery can be delayed by pain and swelling caused by the operation. Encouraging range of movement and mobilisation as soon as possible after surgery is part of the ‘Enhanced Recovery after Surgery’ pathway at Cheltenham General Hospital.

Thanks to a grant from the Gloucestershire Arthritis Trust (GAT), and in partnership with PhysioLab Technologies who have designed an innovative cryotherapy system, Orthopaedic Surgeon Peter Kempshall will undertake a pilot study of 200 knee replacement patients to undergo cryotherapy postoperatively, starting in July.…

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This week is Chiropractic Awareness Week

Chiropractic Awareness Week, hosted by the British Chiropractic Association, starts on Monday 4 April

Chiropractic Awareness Week (CAW) 2022 will commence on 4 April and this year’s theme will be Rigour, Evidence, Relevance: The Future of UK Chiropractic Care and Building Connections with Mainstream Healthcare.

The British Chiropractic Association’s primary focus for this year’s CAW (4-10 April) will be to showcase the chiropractic profession as a regulated, evidence-informed, ethical and reliable health profession to their peers in the wider healthcare community.…

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A future where no one sees community MSK services as a low priority

by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA

The King’s Fund has just published the results of the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSAR) questions on satisfaction with the NHS. Satisfaction has dropped by 17 percentage points since last year’s survey, with more people now being dissatisfied than satisfied with the NHS. The main reasons are waiting times (for GPs and hospital appointments), staff shortages and that the government does not spend enough money on the NHS. No one with any connection to health services will be surprised by any of this.…

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Ending the lottery for osteoporosis care

The ROS launches national campaign to end postcode lottery for osteoporosis care and treatment

The Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) launched a national petition calling for 100% Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) coverage in both England and Wales. This is part of a broader national campaign following a report and recommendations from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Osteoporosis and Bone Health.

The APPG on Osteoporosis and Bone Health launched on 25 March 2021 to raise awareness of osteoporosis and the importance of bone health among Parliamentarians and NHS leaders.…

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Health equality: Equity and endurance

The King’s Fund recently published Equity and endurance: how can we tackle health inequalities this time? The case for tackling health inequalities is clear and overwhelming, it argues. Yet attempts to do so in recent decades have had mixed success, and none have translated into the enduring focus on addressing health inequalities that is needed.

The authors propose three fundamental realities that have to be hard-wired into the implementation of any approach to addressing health inequalities:

  • Endurance: inequality reduction needs a long-term programme that takes it beyond planning cycles, political attention spans and leadership tenure.
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JIA on Airing Pain by Pain Concern

Coming soon from Pain Concern will be a podcast episode on juvenile arthritis. Watch out for new additions to the Airing Pain programme on the Pain Concern website. Paul Evans, the award-winning producer of the podcast series, was at the Juvenile Arthritis family weekend event in Crieff in March, run by the Scottish Network for Arthritis in Children.

Each year, SNAC brings together a number of families recently affected by JIA and some of the country’s leading paediatric rheumatology experts for a weekend at Crieff Hydro hotel in Perthshire.…

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University of Derby chronic pain study

Sukhjeen Kaur, a student researcher at the University of Derby is inviting people to take part in an online study which aims to investigate treatment adherence of people living with chronic pain. This will include studying two different populations: White-British and South Asian. Participants will need to be 18+, living with chronic pain for more than three months and identify as part of the White-British or South Asian community.

The researchers are conducting this study to understand the behavioural differences in cultural groups within the UK and if this impacts their attitudes towards chronic pain treatment.…

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Get involved in JIA Awareness Week

JIA logoAfter the success of RA Awareness Week, this year NRAS is having its first JIA Awareness week #SameJIADifferentDay, which will run from the 13 to 17 June 2022.

The staff members at NRAS understand it can be very frustrating for children, young people and even adults with JIA to keep explaining that JIA is a fluctuating condition, and some days are good, and some are bad. No two days are the same living with JIA and you can help raise awareness of this by getting involved:

  • Share, like, retweet #SameJIADifferentDay posts: it makes a big difference.
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New national MSK clinical leads for Wales

Versus Arthritis WalesWales’s new national MSK clinical leads and persistent pain clinical leads have been appointed by Welsh Government and are now in post.

  • Meinir Jones (Hywel Dda UHB) and Robert Letchford (Cardiff & Vale UHB) have been appointed for arthritis/MSK.
  • Sue Jeffs (Aneurin Bevan UHB) and Owen Hughes (Powys tHB) have been appointed for pain.

All roles have been appointed for an initial 12-month period. The clinical leads will work with the Welsh Government to provide strategic oversight and support service development.