Author: Garreth

The Government’s Industrial Strategy for MSK

The UK Government’s Industrial Strategy represents a once-in-a-decade investment in new technologies and research in the UK, with our ageing society forming one of its flagship ‘Grand Challenges’. This £300m+ investment will focus on everything from earlier diagnosis of disease to developing new innovative products and technologies that help people maintain their independence as they age.

Arthritis Research UK has been keeping the Government aware of the importance and impact of tackling musculoskeletal conditions, and we have been working hard in meetings with civil servants and attending at ministerial roundtables to ensure the Government achieves its ambitions around ‘healthy ageing’.…

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Working with Arthritis Survey

Arthritis Research UK wants to hear people’s experiences of working with arthritis.

Arthritis Research UK is asking people to respond to their survey on working with arthritis.

Everyone who takes part in the survey will help the Arthritis Research UK campaigns team better understand the key problems faced by people with arthritis in the workplace, and help make a case to Government about the support people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions need to thrive at work.

We would really appreciate it if any ARMA members could share the survey with their supporters and beneficiaries.…

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The State of Musculoskeletal Health 2018

The State of Musculoskeletal Health 2018 is a resource for health professionals, policy makers, public health leads and anyone interested in musculoskeletal health. We believe that with the best information you can build awareness, make more informed decisions, feel more confident and ultimately help more people with musculoskeletal conditions. The resource was put together by Arthritis Research UK.

Using the best available data on prevalence, risk factors and comorbidities, the report lays out the key factors affecting musculoskeletal health, the economic benefits of musculoskeletal research, and describes the scale and impact of the problem.…

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The MSK First Point-of-Contact Model

Health Education England, together with South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit, has developed an easy-to-use tool to support clinicians, managers and commissioners in their efforts to forecast and monitor the impacts of MSK self-referral to first contact practitioners (FCP).

It is called the MSK First Point of Contact Model.

The model would be useful for anyone considering:

  •     Writing a business case for a first contact practitioner service
  •     Evaluating the impact of an already established FCP service
  •     Planning a service improvement initiative within a MSK health system

You can find and download the model from ARMA’s Network Resources page.

Webinar video: Developing and implementing a JSNA chapter

The video of the latest webinar in the MSK Webinar Series is up on our site.

You now can watch “Focus on Musculoskeletal Health: developing and implementing a JSNA chapter” which uses the example of the London Borough of Ealing and NHS Ealing CCG to outline the development of the JSNA chapter, and show why this is important for improving the musculoskeletal health of a local population.

You can see this on our Webinar page, as well as recordings of past webinars from the MSK series, including:

  •     Sport, Exercise, Training and Delivery in the NHS
  •     Self-care workforce skills
  •     Joint Pain Advisor Webinar
  •     Getting It Right First Time Masterclass
  •     Clinical Networks: Transforming MSK Care
  •     Physiotherapy in Primary Care
  •     The Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire
  •     New models of MSK Masterclass
  •     Work & Health MSK Webinar

Institute of Osteopathy and NASS partner to tackle delay in Ankylosing Spondylitis diagnosis

As part of the Institute of Osteopathy’s partnership with the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS), two refresher seminars held for osteopaths and chiropractors at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath.

The iO is supporting NASS’s work to reduce the current 8.5 year delay to diagnosis in axial spondyloarthritis, including ankylosing spondylitis. Over 100 delegates attended the seminars, where Drs Karl Gaffney and Raj Sengupta presented an update on the most recent tools for diagnosis, with an emphasis on the use of MRI and the presence of extra articular manifestations, such as uveitis, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis.…

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Physical Activity in Adolescence

The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine has updated its position statement Physical Activity in Adolescence. The statement is a useful reference document for both the Sport and Exercise Medicine community and all health professionals, with evidence-informed recommendations for health-related physical activity.

The statement highlights recent objective studies, which have collected data using accelerometry, indicate that less than 25% of adolescents accumulate an average of 60 min per day of moderate physical activity. The guidelines include information on muscle strength, skeletal health, obesity, mental health and wellbeing with recommendations for the type and length of regular physical activity in this population.…

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Against the Odds: Scaling innovation in the NHS

Guest blog by David Albury, Board Director Innovation Unit

Why have so many innovations in the NHS failed to make the impact they might because they remain in isolated pockets and never spread? Here at the Innovation Unit we decided to look at this question from a more positive angle and ask where innovation has spread and what made that possible?

There is broad agreement that the pressures and challenges currently facing the NHS can only be addressed through developing and scaling innovations that significantly improve outcomes whilst significantly reducing costs.…

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#LoveYourHealth – Promoting public health and raising the profile of osteopathy

Throughout April, the Institute of Osteopathy has been promoting their #LoveYourHealth social media campaign, showcasing key health and wellbeing messages with the public. The focus of the campaign was to provide practical advice and tips to help people make informed decisions to improve their health.

#LoveYourHealth, which was centred around International Osteopathic Healthcare Week, showcased new patient-facing resource pages that the iO has recently developed around a number of key themes:

  • Getting active
  • Healthy aging
  • Sleeping better
  • Health at work
  • Understanding persistent pain

The focus of the social media campaign was to promote the positive role that osteopathy plays in supporting the health of our patients.…

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Patient survey on MSK self-management apps

EULAR has funded a project aimed at understanding the development, evaluation and implementation of mobile phone applications for self-management in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Following a systematic literature teview, the project task force is now at a stage where it would like to gain insights into the patient’s views, perceptions and current use of health apps for self-management.

EULAR therefore kindly asks you to fill in the following survey:
surveymonkey.com/mHealthAppsSurvey
It takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete.