Guest blog: Time for the final Cinderella to attend the ball?

Musculoskeletal support professionals in the community

by Dr Rob Hampton, GP and Occupational Physician

Across the world, chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis, inflammatory disorders and common regional conditions such as back, neck, shoulder, hip and knee pain now represent the single greatest cause of years lived with disability 1. When measuring their negative impact on employment, self-reported wellbeing and day-to-day function, chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions are every bit as invasive as other chronic conditions such as heart failure, diabetes and COPD.…

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Annual Lecture 2018

More people, more active, more often: three perspectives on physical activity and musculoskeletal health

21 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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ARMA’s new strategy for 2019 – 2021

Over the last few months ARMA has been working with members on a new strategy, setting out more clearly what we work on and how we work in collaboration with our members. We will work in those areas where collaboration will have bigger impact than any single organization working alone. Through greater clarity and focus we expect to achieve greater impact. If you are reading this and thinking that your professional body or patient organisation isn’t a member but really should be part of this, encourage them to join.…

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Seeking new trustees for ARMA

ARAM logoThe Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) is seeking to expand our trustee board to bring in people from different professional backgrounds. This is the ideal opportunity for someone who wishes to gain experience of serving at board level with an interest in improving health services for people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions. We are looking for trustees with a business or fundraising background to complement our existing board’s strengths in health provision and charity management.

ARMA is an umbrella body bringing together 35 member organisations, ranging from specialised support groups for rare diseases to major research charities and national professional bodies.…

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Direct access to physiotherapy benefits MSK patients

Between 20 and 30% of a GP caseload is made up of patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions; by expanding the availability of physiotherapy in general practice, GP time is freed up and patients are put in the driving seat, receiving the right care from the right professional. Physiotherapists are experts regarding MSK issues and have the same high safety record as GPs.

There are already examples of experienced physiotherapists working alongside GPs as the first point of contact for MSK patients.…

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CEO update July 2016

Federico_375x567ARMA started July on all cylinders, with our AGM on the 4th of July and the election of four new Trustees to the ARMA Board, whose details are now on our Governance webpage. We were also delighted to have Dr. Martin McShane as our guest speaker this year. Martin, who is now Director of Medical Clinical Operations at Optum, is well-known to us from his previous role as Director for Long-Term Conditions NHS England: among other things, he gave the 2013 ARMA Annual Lecture, spoke at the 2014 MSK World Summit and also published a great blog on MSK ahead of our national seminar in January this year.…

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Guest Blog: What a time to leave

by Sarah Wright, Policy and Public Affairs Officer, ARMA

Well, what a time to be leaving ARMA! We’re finally starting to get the recognition that MSK deserves and this Alliance of organisations is now recognised as the place to go to for solutions to the MSK problem. But let’s not open the champagne just yet, there is still a great deal of work to do and what a perfect time to hand over the ARMA baton to someone to take it to the next level.…

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