Guest blog: The fight against fragility fractures

The challenge: 520,000 cases of fragility fracture occur every year amongst those (primarily over-50s) suffering with the bone-weakening disease known as osteoporosis. That is 520,000 broken bones caused by as little as slipping in the shower, stepping off a curb even. This is not only a huge economic burden on the NHS, approximately £5.25 billion,…

BASRAT Sport Rehabilitation brought to life

BASRaT registrar Ollie Coburn has produced a short video illustrating his profession. Sport Rehabilitators aid people with musculoskeletal pain, injury or illness. They help people to maintain their health and fitness, recover from and prevent injury and reduce pain using exercise, movement and therapy. The video “Sport Rehabilitation brought to life in 38 seconds!” can…

Fibromyalgia survey for healthcare professionals

Can you help us improve healthcare for people with fibromyalgia in the UK? Professor Gary Macfarlane and Dr Rosemary Hollick of the PACFiND study team are looking for healthcare professionals who see patients with fibromyalgia to take part in a short online survey. This survey will help PACFiND understand current provision of NHS services for…

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…

NICE guideline on safe prescribing and withdrawal management

NICE guideline: Safe prescribing and withdrawal management of prescribed drugs associated with dependence and withdrawal The final scope and equality impact assessment for this NICE guideline have now been published, along with all the stakeholder comments that were received during consultation and our responses to these comments. NICE identified ARMA as a stakeholder for this…

Could you be a 2020 MSK Champion?

Dates for the next Versus Arthritis MSK Champion programme are now live on their website! Following the successful launch of Versus Arthritis’s Musculoskeletal Champions programme in 2018, they’re recruiting the third cohort of inspirational leaders committed to championing change in musculoskeletal (MSK) health care. If your application to this programme is successful, you will be…

Medical Devices Regulation and waiting times

Medical Devices Regulation from 2020 On 26 May 2017 the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR 2017/745) was published, with the aim of replacing the current Medical Devices Directive (MDD 93/43/EC). Following a transition period of three years, this regulation will be applied in full from 26 May 2020. The BOA has recently published its position statement…

Moving Medicine – Active Conversations

Many of us know that our patients’ lives could be so much better if they move just a little more. Active Conversations has been developed by Moving Medicine in partnership with the Academy for Health Coaching and is a practical, evidence-based online learning course worth 16 CPD points, that teaches clinicians how to have quick,…

Hospitals join Aspiring to Excellence programme

NASS announces the first six hospitals to join its Aspiring to Excellence programme On 16th November, NASS celebrated the six winners of the first ever Aspiring to Excellence awards during a ceremony at the NASS Voices London event. The day was attended by over 100 people, all with an interest in axial spondyloarthritis (axial SpA)…

Welcome to the National Axial Spondyloarthrititis Society

Today (01/11/2019) we re-launch our charity as the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society. For 43 years the NASS has supported people affected by ankylosing spondylitis. Rheumatologists can now diagnose people using MRI before the disease causes bone changes so treatment can start a lot earlier. They now use the term axial spondyloarthritis (axial SpA), which includes…