Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance
Influencing policy and care together for best lifelong musculoskeletal health
Talia Dean meets Dasha and Gillian to learn more about axial SpA (AS)
Singer-songwriter, Talia Dean, made a big announcement in January 2021. In 2020 she was diagnosed with axial SpA (AS). Watch this video as she meets Dasha and Gillian, who live with the disease, and starts her journey towards becoming an #ASWarrior. #TaliasASJourney
See Talia’s story in the BBC article, 15 January 2021:
‘My back pain was misdiagnosed for 15 years – now I can’t dance‘
We are delighted to welcome a new ARMA member, Physio First.
Physio First is a membership trade association of self-employed Chartered physiotherapists. Their organisational statement of intent: to “champion evidenced value based private physiotherapy with Physio First members in the changing healthcare marketplace.”
Read more about Physio Fast on our Membership page.
The Office for National Statistics is consulting on a new measure for health in England, recognising that the nation’s health is an asset – as important to the economy and wider society as it is to the individual. The proposed health index not only measures how healthy people are today but also looks at the wider social and economic circumstances that will influence our – and the next generation’s – ability to live healthy lives in the future. Tracking these indicators over time provides the opportunity to finally look beyond GDP as a sole measure of national success.…
Read more of this article
by Ehlers-Danlos Support UK
We were very disappointed to be told just before Christmas that the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) wanted to withdraw the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) toolkit for GPs. The College planned to remove the toolkit from the RCGP website at the end of January. The RCGP cited pressure on its limited resources as a result of the pandemic and contention around the toolkit from various sources as reasons for its decision. While we understood that the College wanted to prioritise use of its resources, the move would have been a huge backwards step for people with EDS and related conditions.…
Read more of this article
The challenge of the next decade: are hip fracture services ready?
The National hip Fracture Database (NHFD) has recently released its latest annual report focussing on the six NHFD key performance indicators used to monitor and drive up standards across the country. 2020 will no doubt prove to be one of the most challenging years in the history of the NHS. This report also presents the first data about the effect of COVID-19 on trauma units around the country and on outcome for patients with hip fracture who have COVID-19 when admitted to hospital or develop it after their operation.…
Read more of this article
NICE is developing Interventional Procedures Guidance: Supercapsular percutaneously assisted total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis IP1842.
Hip osteoarthritis can cause pain, stiffness and difficulty walking. Standard surgery to replace the joint (total hip arthroplasty) involves cutting tendons and muscles and pulling the hip joint apart to insert the new metal joint. In this procedure, a small cut is made in the skin (percutaneous). Muscles and tendons are moved apart to access the hip joint. A metal joint is inserted without fully pulling the hip joint apart (supercapsular).…
Read more of this article
RA disease impact in patients not treated with advanced therapies; survey findings from the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Societyby NRAS
Recently NICE published a Final Appraisal Document in respect of a new JAK inhibitor (filgotinib – Jyseleca) giving access to people with RA who have so called ‘moderate’ disease in addition to those with ‘severe’ disease. This is the first time NICE have broadened their eligibility criteria for access to advanced therapies and is warmly welcomed by NRAS. This comes at the same time as a paper published by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (P.…
Read more of this article
(Version 12, 12 September 2022)
Amendment 12th September 2022: Document updated to include latest JCVI and NHSE guidance regarding autumn boosters using second generation bivalent COVID-19 vaccines and results of VROOM study (see section 23 and section 24 respectively)
Amendment 3rd April 2022: Document updated to include latest JCVI and NHSE guidance regarding spring 2022 boosters (see section 22)
Amendment 3rd December 2021: Document updated to include latest JCVI guidance regarding boosters for patients who were eligible for a third primary dose (see end of section 21)
Amendment 13 October 2021: Document updated to include revised BSR wording about third primary dose (section 20).…
Read more of this article
Thank you to everyone for donating to the Joint Action Christmas Appeal this year; currently you and Joint Action donors have raised £8,000!
If you haven’t already and would like to donate to the Joint Action Christmas Appeal and help raise funds for trauma and orthopaedic research, you can donate online via Justgiving.
It’s been a year like no other, and while much of the world’s attention has been focused on COVID-19, the needs of people with musculoskeletal diseases have not gone away and sadly in many cases the need has grown.…
Read more of this article
Facts and figures from the British Orthopaedic Association on reduced operating times and increasing waiting times during 2020 are available here.
Under the theme of ‘Tackling Infection,’ the 2021 Congress will take place 21-24 September at P&J Live, The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA). The BOA is currently working on the Congress programme, which will be released in early 2021.
If you or your colleagues are not currently BOA members and are planning to attend the next BOA Annual Congress, they will need to become a BOA member no later than Monday 1st March 23:59 to receive the 100% discount during the members Early Bird period!…
Read more of this article
