Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance
Influencing policy and care together for best lifelong musculoskeletal health
There are only a few days left to apply for the prestigious EULAR Edgar Stene Prize Competition 2019. People with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders are invited to write about their personal experiences submitting essays on the topic of:
“My ideal employer – Work without barriers for people with RMDs”
Please find more information in these documents:
Please take a careful look at the deadlines and entry rules mentioned in the respective documents.…
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Versus Arthritis is delighted to announce that they will shortly be open for applications for the second round of the MSK Champions programme; a prestigious leadership development opportunity.
Together with international business school Ashridge Executive Education, Versus Arthritis has created a bespoke leadership initiative, which will support you to become a Champion of musculoskeletal care. You’ll join a galvanized community of role models and ambassadors who advocate change and work together to improve musculoskeletal care.
Are you passionate about leading change in MSK care?…
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More people, more active, more often: three perspectives on physical activity and musculoskeletal health21 November 2018
Introduced by Sue Brown ARMA CEO and Liam O’Toole, CEO, Versus Arthritis, who partnered with ARMA for the flagship lecture, the three presenters delivered speeches that did not disappoint the rapt audience of health professionals, commissioners, patients, public and NHS health officials and, of course, parkrunners. The discussion about how to overcome the barriers to activity faced by people with musculoskeletal conditions ranged from big-picture societal issues to practical hows-to.…
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The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has released a short Christmas film called Never Too Late as part of their “Love Activity” campaign.
The film is a heart-warmer about a physio who helps a lonely widower regain his strength and sense of purpose so that he can return to his role playing Father Christmas at the local children’s ward. Alongside the video, a webpage includes six exercises that can help people stay strong and independent this winter.
The short film is available via the CSP webpage or on social media.
In England alone, approximately 4.6 million people have had both a long-term physical health condition and mental health problems. People with long-term physical health conditions are two to three times more likely to experience mental health problems. For the working age population in the UK, musculoskeletal and mental health conditions are the most common health conditions. 35.2% of all working aged disabled people in the UK experience musculoskeletal conditions only; 20.2% experience mental health conditions only; and 17.2% experience both.
In policy directives and in practice, these conditions are often dealt with separately, although we are beginning to see some change now.…
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by Dr Hamish Reid, Consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine, Moving Medicine design and development lead
Moving Medicine is an exciting new initiative by the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine in partnership with Public Health England and Sport England. It is dedicated to spreading best practice, research and advice to clinicians and patients to create a healthier, happier and more active nation. On the 16th October 2018 the initiative was formally launched by the Honourable Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, headlining the flagship set of resources to support high quality conversations on physical activity across a broad range of chronic diseases including musculoskeletal pain.…
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Prevention is in the news this week as Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock announced that prevention must be at the heart of the NHS long-term plan, with more spending on community services.
This is welcome news and something ARMA and our members have long called for.
The new prevention vision aims to ensure that people can enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, while narrowing the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest.…
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HMSA 
Trustee and HSD Ambassador, Hannah Ensor will be a speaker at the COP2018 conference on the 24 November, raising awareness and understanding of hypermobility syndromes, focusing mainly on hEDS and HSD, but also touching on complications associated with other HDCTs too.
Hypermobility (having joints that are more flexible than average) is often thought to be a childhood problem that people grow out of. In reality the evidence shows that while approximately 30% of children with EDS/HMS reported pain, over 80% of patients over 40 with EDS/HMS report pain – indicating that it is an issue which often causes more problems over time rather than less.…
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A new paper published [24 October 2018] in the Lancet highlights regional imbalances in health and reveals the huge burden of disability linked to long-term conditions such as low back and neck pain, anxiety and depression, highlighting the need for health services to adapt to managing these conditions.
The study uses GBD 2016 data on mortality, causes of death, and disability to analyse the burden of disease in the countries of the UK and within local authorities in England by deprivation quintile.…
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The HSE wants to inspire businesses to consider how ergonomics–based design changes can reduce the risks of work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and nominate design changes that have made a real impact
The ‘Risk-reduction through design’ Award is sponsored by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF).
Make a nomination for 2018
You can nominate design solutions implemented in Great Britain during the 2018 calendar year that have demonstrated how they’ve reduced MSD risks for workers.…
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