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Chair’s farewell – Chris Martey to step down from ARMA Chair

16 June 2026

After six years of dedicated service, Chris Martey will step down as Trustee and Chair of the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance after the Annual General Meeting on 1 July 2026.

During his tenure, Chris has guided the organisation through significant challenge and change. Under his leadership, governance has been strengthened, ARMA is financially more sustainable, and a new and ambitious five-year strategy has been launched that positions ARMA as the alliance that can shift the system – convening, collaborating and campaigning to influence leaders and policymakers to make musculoskeletal (MSK) health a national priority.…

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RCC welcomes their new President, Stuart Smellie

At their winter conference, Stuart Smellie formally began his term as President of The Royal College of Chiropractors (RCC). This follows a year serving as President-Elect.

Bringing more than three decades of clinical experience, Stuart has had a longstanding involvement in postgraduate education, professional standards, and leadership roles. Having served as a trustee since 2010 and spending 15 years as their Director of Academic Affairs, he has contributed to the academic and professional development of the Royal College for many years.…

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20 Million Reasons our new strategy matters

by Adrian Bradley, CEO, Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA)

Publishing a new strategy is always a moment to pause. Not just to look ahead, but to reflect on why the choices you’re making matter and why now is the right time to be ambitious.

ARMA’s new strategy is grounded in a simple but powerful truth: there are 20 million reasons to act. Over 20 million people in the UK live with a musculoskeletal condition. Each one is a reason – a person with a life, a job, a family, ambitions and frustrations – whose experience of pain, mobility and independence is too often overlooked in public policy.…

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Celebrating Christina Cunliffe OBE

The RCC President-Elect, Stuart Smellie and Chief Executive, Susie Isaacson were delighted to be invited to share the formal celebrations as Professor Christina Cunliffe OBE, Principal of McTimoney College of Chiropractic was awarded her Order of the British Empire (OBE) from the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle.

This was a proud moment to celebrate all of Christina’s many achievements and she was joined by family, friends, colleagues, patients and members of the chiropractic community. We were delighted to share this momentous occasion to celebrate Christina’s personal ambition and all that she represents for the profession as a whole.…

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SOMM Annual Teachers’ Study Day

SOMM Annual Teachers’ Study Day: Reflecting, Sharing, and Planning Ahead

SOMM recently hosted their Annual Teachers’ Study Day, an important event in the SOMM calendar. This day provides a unique opportunity for the teaching team to reflect on the past year, review and refine course content, and share innovative ideas that enhance the learning experience for students. It’s also a time to look forward, ensuring the Society’s teaching remains at the forefront of musculoskeletal medicine.

All courses have now been scheduled for 2026, continuing to uphold the high standards that define SOMM’s programmes.…

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New NRAS Strategy 2025-2029

NRAS is excited to present their new organisational strategy for 2025-2029. This plan sets out how they will achieve their priorities over the next three years, how they will address the significant challenges facing the nearly half a million people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in the UK, and how they will protect the future of the organisation.

NRAS is determined to help create a future where everyone with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis can thrive.

New brand, new name

Versus Arthritis has now rebranded to Arthritis UK. Arthritis UK believes this name change will help more people who need help find the appropriate information, education and support services. Arthritis UK also believes this will help bring about greater change for people living with arthritis all across the UK as they look to grow their income and impact.

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.

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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CCAA’s local area Facebook groups

The CCAA has a new local area Facebook group for Herefordshire. This adds to the existing groups, now covering all counties across England and Wales.

Families can find their nearest CCAA local area Facebook group here.

These are online support groups, run and monitored by volunteers at CCAA. They aim to allow families to connect within their local area to share the journey. Health professionals may wish to signpost these groups to their patients.

There are not currently local area groups for Scotland as this area is covered by SNAC (Scottish Network for Arthritis in Children), but the CCAA will always support families in Scotland if they reach out, of course.