Category: Treatments & Therapies

NICE: Guselkumab for treating active psoriatic arthritis

Draft Scope Consultation

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been asked to consider an appraisal of guselkumab for treating active psoriatic arthritis after inadequate response to DMARDs ID1658.

NICE invited organisations to take part in the consultation to discuss the draft remit and scope. The organisations selected as stakeholders are listed here and the draft scope that is being consulted on can be found here.

The consultation closes on Wednesday 18 December 2019. If you have any queries regarding this scoping exercise or would like to be involved you can contact Michelle Adhemar, Scoping Project Manager at scopingta@nice.org.uk…

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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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SOMM Musculoskeletal core capabilities framework

The Society of Musculoskeletal Medicine (SOMM) has produced a short paper mapping capabilities within the published ‘Musculoskeletal core capabilities framework for first point of contact practitioners’* to the Society’s course provision.  

The domains identified within the framework provide categories for the capabilities that underpin first contact practice. Practitioners can be signposted to appropriate modules to facilitate the development of the advanced skills required for their MSK First Contact Practitioner (FCP) role. The Society’s programme of courses already accommodates key capabilities that learners across a range of health professions need, to be able to develop as FCPs.…

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Have you visited Moving Medicine yet?

Last October, Moving Medicine was launched by the Honourable Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The free, evidence-based resources, available at movingmedicine.ac.uk support high quality conversations on physical activity across a broad range of chronic diseases including musculoskeletal pain, inflammatory rheumatic conditions and primary prevention, to mention a few.

The resources are all developed with experts, healthcare professionals and patients, and are endorsed by professional bodies and charities, including ARMA. Whether you have 1 minute, 5 minutes, or more minutes to speak with patients about physical activity, Moving Medicine will help support this. …

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Guest blog: Rethinking activity and movement in care homes

by Catherine Holmes, National Service Improvement Manager, Anchor

I was thrilled to read Sue Brown’s (CEO, ARMA) September blog and the proposed plan for an event on physical activity. The importance and benefits of staying active is already widely accepted and understood in terms of maintaining joint movement, bone and muscle strength and this is especially important for residents living in care homes. The challenge for care is to create opportunities for people with a wide variety and often multiple and complex health needs such as musculoskeletal, limited or a lack of mobility and living with dementia to keep engaged and active.…

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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.

We are undefeatable campaign

A new campaign, We are Undefeatable, launched on 2 September from Sport England and associated partners including Versus Arthritis.

The campaign aims to help people with health conditions find ways to get active. With a long term condition you are two times more likely to be inactive. Physical activity plays a powerful role, it can help manage 20 or more conditions and reduce the risk of many health conditions by up to 40%.

Sport England are challenging the existing narrative and working with partners to challenge the status quo.…

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The ESCAPE-pain programme in practice

Case study of improved mobility and independence

Listen to Regina’s story of how she overcame osteoarthritis and difficulties with mobility with the help of the ESCAPE-pain group at her local leisure centre.

The ESCAPE-pain Programme: Helping people with chronic joint paint to self-manage their condition and become more physically active

At 76 years old, Regina had been suffering with osteoarthritis for over ten years and it was having a big impact on her life physically and emotionally. “I was in a bad place; I was in a wheelchair to start with.”…

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Adapted Homes, Empowered Lives report

On 8 May, Versus Arthritis published a new policy report looking at the impact of home aids and adaptations for people with arthritis, and the barriers that people face when trying to access them. Read the full report here, which includes powerful stories from people with arthritis who benefit from aids and adaptations.

We found that aids and adaptations – from perching stools and grabbing tools, to grab rails and stair lifts – can help people with arthritis, and related conditions such as back pain, achieve a better quality of life and maintain their independence in the home.…

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Save Our Pools – Guest Blog

By Jill Hamilton, Professional Engagement Manager, National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society

Exercise is the single most important thing that anyone with axial SpA (AS) can do to self-manage their condition. It’s not always possible though; if someone is experiencing a flare or has severe physical disability as a result of their condition then exercising on land can be pretty much impossible. Exercising in water however is a lot easier; the warmth and the buoyancy make stretches more effective, it’s less painful, it’s easier to stay upright because the effect of gravity is less, it requires less physical effort and afterwards you usually have a really good night’s sleep!…

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