Garreth | Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance

Reflections on opportunities for better MSK health

by Adrian Bradley, CEO ARMA

Throughout my first three months in post, I have been constantly struck by the breadth, diversity, expertise and impact of ARMA’s member organisations. Last week I had the pleasure of being a guest of the British Orthopaedic Association at their Annual Congress in Liverpool. Under the theme of ‘Preventing Harm & Transforming Lives’, I attended inspiring sessions on topics as far ranging as integrating orthopaedic clinical practice with support for patients’ lifestyle modification, reducing unnecessary hospital stays in arthroplasty, calls for a national ACL injury prevention programme and, perhaps most soberingly, our preparedness for war.…

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Arthritis Action Trustee vacancies

Arthritis Action is seeking to appoint up to three new Trustees to join their Board. They would welcome new Trustees with the following areas of expertise:

Charity Fundraising & Income Generation
Law
Accountancy
IT & cybersecurity in the charity sector or small business
Professional experience in the NHS

Arthritis Action would particularly like to hear from individuals from under-represented or diverse groups.

Download the Trustee Recruitment Pack (opens pdf).

The deadline for applications 09.00, Monday 13^th October 2025.

EULAR Edgar Stene Prize Competition 2026

EULAR PARE has announced the launch of the EULAR Edgar Stene Prize essay competition 2026 on the topic:

“Is it all in the genes, or not? How rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) shape and reshape family connections”.

The competition is open to people aged 18 and over living with rheumatic and MSK diseases (RMD) who wish to write about their personal experiences on the competition topic.

In addition, for 2026 entries are also invited from parents, siblings, grandparents, and adult children of an individual living with an RMD to participate (all must be 18 years of age or older).…

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Right to Rehab and Rehabilitation Awareness

BASRaT has asked its registrants to engage with Rehabilitation Awareness Week (15th – 21st September 2025) with the aim of showcasing how they have enriched peoples’ lives. Rehabilitation can be life changing and everyone should have a right to rehab, regardless of their postcode.

It was truly awe inspiring to hear the real-life stories that formed BASRat’s patient stories leaflet. Read the Sport Rehabilitation Testimonials here.

MSK Innovation Accelerator open for applications

Applications are open for researchers and entrepreneurs working on innovations relevant to musculoskeletal health, to participate in the next MSK Innovation Accelerator programme.

The programme, which is the only one of its type dedicated to MSK health technologies, is hosted by MedTech SuperConnector and funded by Orthopaedic Research UK. It is designed to accelerate the development of musculoskeletal innovation and thereby create and scale early-stage MSK ventures across the UK. It involves a 6-month intensive learning journey, providing participants with entrepreneurship training, masterclasses, and access to expertise.…

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The new NRAS RA Symptom Checker

NRAS is proud to announce they have launched a new online tool aimed at helping individuals identify early signs of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic autoimmune condition that affects around 400,000 people in the UK. If left untreated, it can cause long-term joint damage and affect other organs such as the lungs, heart, and eyes. Early diagnosis is crucial to managing the disease and preventing irreversible harm.

To support this, NRAS has introduced the “Is it RA?” Symptom Checker, a user-friendly online resource developed with input from leading rheumatology experts.…

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Versus Arthritis Response to the Men’s Health Strategy

In April, the government announced plans for England’s first Men’s Health Strategy, aimed at addressing the life expectancy gap and health conditions that disproportionately affect men.

To help shape the strategy, the government launched a call for evidence – and Versus Arthritis used this opportunity to highlight the estimated 8.7 million men in England living with arthritis and MSK conditions whose needs must be recognised.

Versus Arthritis highlighted gout throughout their response, as gout is more common in men, with 66,000 people newly diagnosed with gout each year.…

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Scottish Survey of autoimmune inflammatory conditions

NRAS is leading on an important collaborative survey of people with autoimmune inflammatory conditions across Scotland about their experience of care in the NHS. We want to hear from any patients with a diagnosis of any of the following conditions:

• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Axial Spondyloarthritis
• Psoriatic Arthritis or Psoriasis
• Lupus
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The survey is live from 1st September 2025 until 10th October 2025.

Below is a link to our website and a copy of our flyer.…

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Living with RA in Wales?

A chance to meet the team who support you!

NRAS is pleased to invite people in Mid-Wales to an in-person event in Aberystwyth on the 22nd of October 2025.

Members of the NRAS team, including Director of Innovation and Services Donagh Stenson, will be joined by Professor Karim Raza, Consultant Rheumatologist, Bronglais Hospital, Hywel Dda University Health Board, and Sarah O’Donovan, a rheumatology nurse specialist who works with Professor Raza. The event will consist of talks by Donagh and Karim about how NRAS can support people to self-manage their condition and about developments in rheumatology care.…

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The BOA’s AI Conference 2025

Following the success of the conference over the last three years, the BOA is delighted to announce that the 2025 AI in Orthopaedics and MSK event will take place on Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd December 2025 at 10 Union Street, London.

Visionary Keynotes – from leading surgeons, researchers, and technologists showcasing AI breakthroughs poised to redefine orthopaedic care and patient outcomes.
Hands-on workshops – that place cutting-edge diagnostic, surgical planning, and rehabilitation AI tools directly in your hands.
Strategic networking with clinicians, AI developers, investors, and healthcare leaders to foster collaborations that accelerate innovation and improve orthopaedic care.

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