A new report from Public Health England examines data on chronic pain in England and analyses inequalities in the experience of chronic pain. The report will be useful for those commissioning and delivering services for those experiencing chronic pain and policy makers in central and local government. The findings on inequalities include that chronic pain is more prevalent in women than men; in people from the Black ethnic group than other ethnicities; and in those in more deprived areas.
The Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 has highlighted pain as one of the most prominent causes of disability worldwide.…
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ARMA’s first ever online multi-disciplinary conference was a great end to a difficult year. We wanted to bring together the whole range of stakeholders from across MSK health, including policy makers and people living with MSK conditions to talk about how we can do things differently and work together.
Updated guidance was published in December to support primary and community care practitioners in recognising serious pathology which requires emergency or urgent referral to secondary care in people with new or worsening MSK symptoms. Serious pathology as a cause of MSK conditions is considered rare, but it needs to be managed either as an emergency or as urgent onward referral as directed by local pathways. Any part of the MSK system can be affected.
by Hannah Oladugba, Physiotherapist, ACPT Network
Key reports exploring the role of osteopaths in supporting NHS services for the benefit of patient care, including the results of research into osteopaths as primary care First Contact Practitioners, have been published and are available 
NASS was pleased to work with Dr Helena Marzo-Ortega of Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Simon Whalley from M&F Health to produce a comment piece for The Lancet Rheumatology earlier this month. The article concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in significant disruption for people living with axial SpA (AS) and the healthcare teams providing the vital NHS services they rely on.
The article shines a light on the difficulties that people living with axial SpA (AS) have had accessing vital services, as well as highlighting the innovative steps that healthcare teams have taken to offer people support during the crisis as well as calling for greater collaboration between policy makers and health care providers to safeguard essential care for people with axial SpA (AS).… 
We know that managing chronic pain can be one of the most difficult aspects of primary care consultations for both doctors and patients. The new NICE guidelines, due to be published in January, will potentially have huge implications on the traditional way of practice.
We are delighted to announce that the 
We are also delighted to welcome EQL as associate members. EQL’s 
About a year ago ARMA had a vision for a conference that would bring together stakeholders from across the MSK community to think about how we can work better together to improve the lives of people living with MSK conditions. Earlier this week that vision became a reality in the form of the Working Together conference.
It’s been a year like no other, and while much of the world’s attention has been focused on the disease COVID-19, the needs of people with musculoskeletal disease have not gone away and sadly in many cases the need has grown. We know that thousands of people across the UK have experienced long waits for surgery and cancellations of other medical appointments. The British Orthopaedic Association has continued to focus on the needs of these patients, and Joint Action, its research appeal, is forging ahead with ambitious plans for 2021 to award new grants.…