Arthritis News & Musculoskeletal News from ARMA's Members

New national MSK clinical leads for Wales

Wales’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.

Why you should consider yoga

New Arthritis Action webinar: Why you should consider yoga if you are living with arthritis

Arthritis Action’s Services Development Manager and Dietitian Martin Lau and Yoga and Pilates Instructor Tracy Weare, present the latest webinar for Arthritis Action on the benefits of yoga for people living with arthritis.

The webinar includes a 30-minute practical chair-based yoga session, followed by question and answer.

A recording of the webinar is available to watch on Arthritis Action’s YouTube channel, and on their webinars web page.

Leadership award for BCA President

President of the British Chiropractic Association, Catherine Quinn, honoured with a prestigious leadership award

The BCA is delighted to announce to the MSK community that at this year’s Parker Seminars Las Vegas which took place in February, BCA President, Catherine Quinn, was awarded their prestigious ‘Women in Leadership 2022’ Award. The award was presented by Parker University and the World Congress of Women Chiropractors (WCWC) in recognition of Catherine’s strong leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Parker’s President, Dr William Morgan, said Catherine’s leadership has focused on “building bridges, rather than walls”.…

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Online Specialty Series for paediatric MSK physiotherapists

During Orthopaedic Research U.K.’s popular online courses for paediatric orthopaedic physiotherapists, it became obvious that there was a lot of interest in the sub-specialties from clinicians with highly specialised caseloads. In response ORUK is launching the Specialty Series of intensive and focused online courses devoted to particular areas of clinical practice. The first online series was attended by physiotherapists with a particular interest in neurodisability, and received outstanding feedback. As a result, there are plans for two more online series in 2022: a summer course devoted to MSK paediatric physiotherapists and a winter course focused on paediatric feet.…

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Why we’re talking about strength

by Karen Middleton, chief executive of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

The chief medical officer’s recommendation to strengthen on at least two days of the week is sometimes referred to as ‘the forgotten guideline’. It is frequently overlooked in favour of its more aerobic activity-based cousin, not least by healthcare professionals. As a consequence, too few people meet the guideline despite it being critical for quality of life and particularly for people living with a long-term condition. 

The pandemic, which brought high levels of inactivity during lockdowns and other changes in behaviour, has exacerbated what is becoming known in healthcare circles as ‘the deconditioning challenge’. …

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Integration: It takes time to turn a tanker

On 11 February a policy paper, Health and social care integration: joining up care for people, places and populations, was published. BestMSK Health with its focus on cross-system, whole-pathway working including prevention seems to me to embody everything the White paper is talking about. I was pleased to see that it includes a commitment to improve pathways for MSK, but there is so much more to integration and MSK health than that. Here’s how I see the principles of the integration White paper playing out in MSK.…

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ESCAPE-pain winter newsletter

Enabling Self-management and Coping with Arthritic Pain using Exercise (ESCAPE-pain): winter newsletter

Orthopaedic Research UK has been thrilled to see so many ESCAPE-pain classes restarting or coming on board, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

ORUK has especially enjoyed receiving participant feedback showing how the programme is helping people to improve their quality of life. Please read more programme updates in the latest newsletter which has information for people living with joint pain as well as information for providers.

Calling all rheumatology services!

NASS has launched the search for the third round of teams to join the Aspiring to Excellence programme. The successful applicants will have the opportunity to plan and implement projects aimed at reducing diagnosis times for people with axial SpA.

Aspiring to Excellence is an award programme designed to encourage and recognise service improvement in axial SpA care. It is open to rheumatology services across the UK. The programme is run by NASS in partnership with BritSpA and the NHS Transformation Unit.…

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What do patients value in healthcare services?

NASS is working on a piece of research with Headstrong Thinking. They want to know what people value in their health services, from the time they first visit a health professional with symptoms of axial SpA, to long term management of their condition.

NASS wants to reach as many people as possible at every point of their journey. If you are treating someone with, or that you suspect might have axial SpA, please do share the Patient Values Survey with them.

JIA Awareness Week: 13 – 17 June 2022

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

When NRAS staff speak to parents, children and adults with JIA, the same conversation comes up: how can we get people to understand that some days people living with JIA can do things like go for long walks or play football, when other days they really struggle to get out of bed or climb the stairs at work?…

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