Category: Arthritis News

PHE Prescribed medicines review

In September, Public Health England published a report on their review of the scale, distribution and causes of prescription drug dependence, and what might be done to address it. This included findings on opioid use for non cancer pain. The report made recommendations for action to reduce the problems caused by dependency and stated that effective, personalised care should include shared decision-making with patients and regular reviews of whether treatment is working.

Long-term prescribing of opioids for chronic, non-cancer pain is not effective for most patients.…

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Stretches for your daily life

NASS has just released a new series of videos showing how everyone living with axial spondyloarthritis (axial SpA) – including people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) – can fit some simple but very effective stretches into their daily life.

No Lycra. No trainers. No gym.

These videos were developed with with a group of specialist axial SpA (AS) physiotherapists from AStretch. They include stretches which patients can do in bed in the morning and stretches for while waiting for the kettle to boil, at the kitchen table and on the sofa to name a few.…

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NICE Interventional Procedures Guidance

NICE are developing Interventional Procedures Guidance: High tibial osteotomy using a magnetic rod device for insertion for precise alignment in early knee arthritis IP1762.

In medial knee osteoarthritis, the cartilage in the inner part of the knee joint wears away. This can cause the joint to become lopsided, which can cause pain, stiffness, and difficulty bending and straightening the knee. In this procedure, a cut (osteotomy) is made in the top of one of the bones in the lower leg (tibia) and a magnetic nail is inserted into the bone.…

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PHE Musculoskeletal Health and Inequalities webinar

Public Health England together with Keele University and Race Equality Foundation invite you to join us for the ‘Musculoskeletal Health and Inequalities’ webinar, on 14 November 2019, 10:00 to 11:00am.  

This webinar will discuss the findings from commissioned work looking at evidence on the differential effectiveness of PHE’s publication on return on investment interventions and what we know about their current level and patterns of provision and uptake. The webinar will then explore data sources to demonstrate these inequalities and discuss the evidence, quantitative and qualitative, on what MSK health inequalities exist for people with a Learning Disability and BAME groups.…

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National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit first report

The National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit (NEIAA) collects information on all new patients over the age of sixteen seen in specialist rheumatology departments with suspected inflammatory arthritis in England and Wales. The first report was published in October. The audit assesses seven key metrics of care provided for people with new symptoms of arthritis attending rheumatology services for the first time and makes recommendations for services, educators and commissioners.

Some of the key findings include:

  • Secondary care units take an average of 28 days to achieve first assessment, compared to a target of three weeks.
…

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Physical activity e-learning programme

Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) has worked with Public Health England and Sport England to launch a new physical activity e-learning programme to help healthcare professionals to champion physical activity with patients.

The e-learning programme, which is aimed at GPs, nurses and other healthcare professionals, will familiarise the learner with the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity guidelines.

This e-learning course prepares GPs, nurses and other healthcare professionals to champion the benefits of physical activity with their patients and, in doing so, help prevent and manage a range of common physical and mental health conditions.…

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Measuring patient outcomes using PROMs

The Institute of Osteopathy has published a case study into the use of Patient Reported Outcome Measurement (PROMs) to measure patient outcomes after osteopathic care.

There is a need for osteopaths to collect robust outcome data from their patients about the care provided, to allow reflection and promote good patient management. Patient data will help the osteopathic profession and individual osteopaths understand more about the response patients have to treatment and ultimately improve patient care.

Read the PROMs impact report here.…

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HMSA website relaunch

The new and improved hypermobility.org

The new HMSA website is something a lot of people have been working on in the background for quite some time, a process complicated by the collapse of the old site at the worst possible moment. TeamHMSA is bursting at the seams with excitement, not least because of some of the new functionality the site has, including:

  • A brand new dedicated Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD) section. 
  • Simple content submission – if you love writing about your experiences/blogging, you will be able to send content directly to us
  • Fundraisers can set up their own pages/events, and anyone can donate directly.
…

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New chair-based exercises for people with arthritis

Arthritis Action has launched a new webpage featuring arthritis-friendly exercises using animated images (GIFs). These chair-based strength and conditioning exercises were developed in partnership with wellbeing organisation Oomph!,  mobilising different parts of the body.

The exercises were designed with the aim to recondition and build mobility and confidence in people who have not been keeping active. The can be viewed on the Arthritis Action website.