Garreth | Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance

CEO blog June 2025

by Adrian Bradley, CEO ARMA

Firstly, I would like to add my voice to the chorus of appreciation and good wishes for Sue Brown who left the organization recently after eight years of distinguished leadership. I feel extremely fortunate to be inheriting such a strong legacy of relationships, influence and achievements. Sue can be rightly proud of her contribution, and I thank her for her service and her support to me during the handover period.

I also want to thank the Board of Trustees for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with them to lead ARMA to continued success.…

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SOMM’s new Spinal Manual Therapy course

SOMM announces the launch of their new Spinal Manual Therapy Masterclass course.

Saturday 11^th October 2025 – SOMM HQ, Liverpool

This one-day course aims to provide clinicians with a great overview of the current evidence base surrounding manual therapy and allow students to learn new effective treatment techniques for the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine.

This course will be ideal for you if: –

You feel that your manual therapy skills need brushing up;
You have done a SOMM course in the past but want to refresh your manual therapy skills.

…

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BASRaT petition to expand private health insurance

BASRaT has launched a petition to expand private health insurance coverage for Sport Rehabilitation treatment. If you believe everyone deserves the choice of care they receive to live a healthy, active life, please take a moment to sign.

BASRaT-registered Sports Rehabilitators play a crucial role in helping people recover from injury, improve performance and return to the activities they love. Despite their expertise and professional regulation, many private medical insurance providers still do not recognise or reimburse treatment delivered by Sport Rehabilitators.…

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ORUK research funding opportunities

ORUK is one of the leading funders of MSK research, working in partnership with other charities and academic institutions. This year it has its strongest ever line-up of funding opportunities for MSK researchers.

BOA/ORUK Research Fellowship 2025

The BOA & Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK) are pleased to announce a joint research fellowship, with the goal of developing a pipeline of research-active orthopaedic surgeons. This scheme will award two fellowships of up to £65k for a project in any area of orthopaedics each year.…

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ORUK to host Fibromyalgia Sandpit

ORUK is hosting a Fibromyalgia Sandpit in central London on 30th September 2025. This will bring together a multidisciplinary group of experts from the NHS, MSK community, third sector and other interested parties to discuss a wide range of issues relating to this misunderstood and under researched condition. The agenda is being developed. If you are interested in attending, please email events@oruk.org

Health economics report from the BCA

Recognising chiropractors in NHS could save the UK economy £1.5 billion, new BCA report finds.

The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) is excited to share with the UK MSK community that their new Health Economics Report, created in collaboration with the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC), shows that integrating chiropractors into the UK National Health Service (NHS) could reduce waiting lists by more than 100,000 appointments each year. Additionally, this integration could enhance national productivity by £400 million annually. Over the duration of this Parliament, the total potential economic benefit could exceed £1.5 billion.…

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JIA Awareness Week 2025

This year, JIA Awareness Week is taking place between 7th-11th July. The campaign will be focusing on short educational videos covering various aspects of this condition, in hopes of raising awareness for all those living with JIA and AJIA (Adult Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis).

NRAS has made a series of short, sharable videos which outline JIA and its symptoms, the medicines that typically are used to treat those living with it and how younger patients may manage their condition at school. These will become available throughout the week as we share more!…

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GIRFT webinar: Delivering cMSK Community Appointment Days

GIRFT invites you to join us for a webinar on 10^th July 2025, 12:30pm – 1:30pm to hear about the progress of the GIRFT MSK community programme and to discuss the delivery of Community Appointment Days (CADs).

The Community Appointment Days (CADs) initiative aims to introduce a new model of care supporting people to better manage their own health and determine appropriate next steps for treatment, placing greater emphasis on having conversations rather than traditional consultations.

We are delighted to be joined by Jean King, deputy director – health division, Joint Work and Health Directorate, who will reflect on her visit to a CAD in Cornwall.…

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NOA’s Annual Members’ Conference and Awards

NOA brings together orthopaedic community for annual members’ conference and awards

The National Orthopaedic Alliance (NOA) hosted its Annual Members’ Conference and Awards on 15 May 2025 at the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre.

For the first time, the awards were fully integrated into the conference programme, creating a dynamic day of learning, sharing, and celebration. The event brought together clinicians, leaders, and professionals from across the orthopaedic community to explore innovations, tackle challenges, and highlight excellence in MSK care.

Cathy Monaghan represented ARMA on a Prevention in MSK Care panel discussion.…

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Versus Arthritis webinars: MSK Bitesize

MSK Bitesize is a 3-hour webinar on MSK conditions that can present in primary care and the role of physical activity in preventing and managing MSK conditions. Topics include inflammatory arthritis, fibromyalgia, gout and more.

Next date:
17^th July 2025, 6pm-9pm
Price: £60
Book here.

Other dates:
Versus Arthritis webinar: MSK Bitesize, Thursday 23rd October 2025 6-9pm, £60.

Versus Arthritis webinar: MSK Bitesize, Wednesday 10^th December 2025 6-9pm, £60.

See further details of training courses for healthcare professionals from the Versus Arthritis website.