Arthritis News | ARMA

New national MSK clinical leads for Wales

Wales’s new national MSK clinical leads and persistent pain clinical leads have been appointed by Welsh Government and are now in post.

Meinir Jones (Hywel Dda UHB) and Robert Letchford (Cardiff & Vale UHB) have been appointed for arthritis/MSK.
Sue Jeffs (Aneurin Bevan UHB) and Owen Hughes (Powys tHB) have been appointed for pain.

All roles have been appointed for an initial 12-month period. The clinical leads will work with the Welsh Government to provide strategic oversight and support service development.

Why you should consider yoga

New Arthritis Action webinar: Why you should consider yoga if you are living with arthritis

Arthritis Action’s Services Development Manager and Dietitian Martin Lau and Yoga and Pilates Instructor Tracy Weare, present the latest webinar for Arthritis Action on the benefits of yoga for people living with arthritis.

The webinar includes a 30-minute practical chair-based yoga session, followed by question and answer.

A recording of the webinar is available to watch on Arthritis Action’s YouTube channel, and on their webinars web page.

Online Specialty Series for paediatric MSK physiotherapists

During Orthopaedic Research U.K.’s popular online courses for paediatric orthopaedic physiotherapists, it became obvious that there was a lot of interest in the sub-specialties from clinicians with highly specialised caseloads. In response ORUK is launching the Specialty Series of intensive and focused online courses devoted to particular areas of clinical practice. The first online series was attended by physiotherapists with a particular interest in neurodisability, and received outstanding feedback. As a result, there are plans for two more online series in 2022: a summer course devoted to MSK paediatric physiotherapists and a winter course focused on paediatric feet.…

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ESCAPE-pain winter newsletter

Enabling Self-management and Coping with Arthritic Pain using Exercise (ESCAPE-pain): winter newsletter

Orthopaedic Research UK has been thrilled to see so many ESCAPE-pain classes restarting or coming on board, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

ORUK has especially enjoyed receiving participant feedback showing how the programme is helping people to improve their quality of life. Please read more programme updates in the latest newsletter which has information for people living with joint pain as well as information for providers.

Calling all rheumatology services!

NASS has launched the search for the third round of teams to join the Aspiring to Excellence programme. The successful applicants will have the opportunity to plan and implement projects aimed at reducing diagnosis times for people with axial SpA.

Aspiring to Excellence is an award programme designed to encourage and recognise service improvement in axial SpA care. It is open to rheumatology services across the UK. The programme is run by NASS in partnership with BritSpA and the NHS Transformation Unit.…

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What do patients value in healthcare services?

NASS is working on a piece of research with Headstrong Thinking. They want to know what people value in their health services, from the time they first visit a health professional with symptoms of axial SpA, to long term management of their condition.

NASS wants to reach as many people as possible at every point of their journey. If you are treating someone with, or that you suspect might have axial SpA, please do share the Patient Values Survey with them.

Outcomes from AHP student placements

Innovative multi-professional student placement project shows positive outcomes

A pilot in Allied Health Professions student placements, funded by Health Education England and facilitated by the Institute of Osteopathy, has shown how an innovative interprofessional approach can deliver positive outcomes for students and educators, ultimately facilitating improved patient outcomes through the delivery of multi-disciplinary care.

More than Skin Deep report

A new report More than Skin Deep: The Underlying Burdens of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis has been published, setting out the challenges currently faced by people living with these chronic, interlinked conditions, and providing a number of key recommendations for improving services.

The report, aimed at policymakers, healthcare professionals and NHS commissioners, has been informed by the input of an expert working group, including leading clinicians from dermatology and rheumatology, as well as representatives from the Psoriasis Association and Versus Arthritis.…

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AI, data and the future of orthopaedics

Guest blog by Dr Arash Angadji, Chief Executive, Orthopaedic Research UK

I was talking to a PhD student who has recently received one of our fellowship grants to research the use of statistical modelling to help better predict patient outcomes, who told me, ‘I am part of that generation that has grown up with computers, so It feels natural to ask how we can we exploit this technology. We are all getting more on board with the idea of smart technology and wearable devices and questioning why we are not applying these technologies to our patients.’…

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MELODY – Investigating COVID-19 vaccine efficacy in immunocompromised people

A new national trial is recruiting people with rare autoimmune diseases to measure their COVID-19 antibody response following at least 3 vaccinations.

The MELODY study is recruiting immunocompromised people to determine the antibody levels they develop in response to COVID-19 vaccination.

The MELODY study aims to:

Assess how many immunocompromised people have detectable antibodies against COVID-19 following at least 3 vaccines;
Investigate whether a lack of detectable antibodies is associated with risk of infection over a 6-month period;
Investigate what factors are associated with lack of detectable antibodies in immunocompromised people.

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