by Professor Anthony Woolf, Chair of ARMA and Chair of the Bone and Joint Decade: A Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health
Musculoskeletal conditions continue to be the greatest cause of disability in the UK according to the Global Burden of Disease study [click for summary], accounting for 30%. Low back pain is the greatest specific cause of disability and osteoarthritis is increasing with ageing of the population and increasing obesity. We, the MSK community, have always known the impact these problems have on people and society but now policy makers cannot escape from the facts and have to come up with policies to prevent and manage them more effectively.…
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I first became involved with the UK Gout Society 13 years ago. Like many people who have never experienced this excruciatingly painful condition, I had treated gout as a bit of a joke and had bought into the common misconception that it was solely an affliction of old men – and a product of high living. I soon realised, however, after reading many desperate letters and hundreds of heart-wrenching emails, that gout was not a laughing matter – and could affect anyone.… 
by Dr Brian Lucas, Chair Royal College of Nursing‘s Society of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing (SOTN), Lead Nurse Education and Development The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Trust
by Stuart Blackman, CEO of BackCare
by Ella Vine, Chief Executive, FibroAction It was a pleasure to attend last week’s ARMA parliamentary reception, an event with expert speakers and healthcare professionals on the subject of musculoskeletal conditions. The event was well attended and it was good to see that some MPs are genuinely interested in the cause and support the 2015 ARMA Manifesto. Lord Hunt, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, has spoken about the challenges lying ahead of us to improve the diagnosis and care of MSK conditions and addressed all six points of ARMA’s Manifesto.…