Neighbourhood MSK Health
Supporting locally led, joined up services that create the conditions for good musculoskeletal (MSK) health close to home.
Why this matters
Neighbourhood health represents a major opportunity to improve how people experience MSK care and support. By organising services around communities rather than institutions, neighbourhood approaches can provide earlier help, better coordination and more personalised support.
MSK conditions affect people’s ability to move, work and live independently. This makes MSK health central to neighbourhood health approaches that aim to prevent problems, reduce pain and help people stay active and connected to their daily lives.
MSK conditions are the leading cause of pain and disability in the UK and a major driver of demand across primary care, community services and elective care. Tackling MSK conditions locally offers significant gains for individual wellbeing, economic productivity and community resilience.
Neighbourhood MSK health is not simply about delivering care closer to home. It is about creating the conditions for good MSK health through early intervention, coordinated support and strong connections between health services, local authorities, employers and community organisations.
Done well, neighbourhood approaches can:
- Improve access to early support and rehabilitation
- Provide more coordinated care across services
- Support people to remain active and independent
- Reduce pressure on hospitals and waiting lists
- Address inequalities through locally tailored approaches.
Neighbourhood MSK health shows how locally led, integrated services can improve lives while supporting wider ambitions for prevention, neighbourhood health and economic participation.
Our position
ARMA believes neighbourhood MSK health should be locally led, person centred and focused on health creation as well as healthcare delivery.
Health is not created in hospitals alone. It is shaped in the places people live, work and connect. Neighbourhood approaches should therefore bring together health services, social care, employers, community organisations and local assets to support people to live well.
Effective neighbourhood MSK health should:
- Start with what matters to people and communities
- Bring multidisciplinary teams together around people, not pathways
- Provide early, joined-up support close to home
- Support prevention, rehabilitation and self-management
- Address the wider determinants of MSK health
- Recognise the vital role of community assets and the voluntary sector.
ARMA believes the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector is essential to neighbourhood MSK health. VCSE organisations bring lived experience, trusted local relationships and the ability to mobilise community assets that help people stay active and connected.
We also believe strong links between neighbourhood services and specialist care are essential. Effective pathways between community services and secondary care can ensure timely access to expertise, better clinical outcomes and more coordinated care.
Health creation happens locally, but national leadership is needed to support it. As the collective voice of the MSK community, ARMA works to share learning, illustrate what good looks like and ensure national policy supports locally led neighbourhood MSK health.
Our focus
ARMA is working with members and partners to support neighbourhood MSK health through several key priorities.
Supporting integrated neighbourhood teams
Promoting multidisciplinary collaboration across general practice, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, community nursing, mental health, social care and the voluntary sector to support people holistically.
Strengthening community assets and VCSE partnerships
Supporting the role of charities, community groups, activity providers and peer networks that help people stay active, manage their conditions and remain connected to their communities.
Improving early access and coordinated support
Encouraging timely access to MSK expertise, rehabilitation and self-management support to prevent avoidable deterioration and reduce escalation to specialist care.
Connecting neighbourhood and specialist care
Promoting strong relationships between neighbourhood MSK services and secondary care to ensure smooth pathways, timely advice and coordinated support.
Tackling inequalities locally
Supporting neighbourhood approaches that understand local population needs and design outreach to reach underserved communities.
Sharing learning and supporting improvement
Identifying and sharing examples of effective neighbourhood MSK services so that promising practice becomes the norm rather than the exception.
Through this work, ARMA aims to support neighbourhood MSK services that improve quality of life, strengthen communities and help create more sustainable health and care services.
Key resources
Key ARMA resources on neighbourhood MSK health include:
- ARMA Vision for Neighbourhood MSK Health. (pdf download tile)
- A Decade of Better MSK Health. (pdf download tile)
- Relevant ARMA policy briefings and consultation responses.
These resources set out ARMA’s position and highlight practical opportunities to improve neighbourhood MSK services and outcomes.
Related insights
Our latest insights on neighbourhood MSK health include:
- Blogs on integrated MSK care and multidisciplinary working.
- News and events relating to neighbourhood health
- Examples of emerging neighbourhood MSK practice.
These insights highlight how neighbourhood approaches are developing and where further progress is needed.