Musculoskeletal

Transcript

Chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the single biggest cause of the rising burden of disability in England. These long term conditions have a huge negative impact on individuals including on employment, well-being, day to day function, mobility and pain.

There are about 200 different musculoskeletal conditions, which fall into five main groups

Inflammatory arthritis

Degenerative arthritis including osteoarthritis

Soft tissue pain

Back pain

And connective tissue diseases or CTD

There are approximately 350,000 people aged 16 years or older with rheumatoid arthritis in England.

An Arthritis Research UK report estimates that the number of people with osteoarthritis in England is around 7.3 million.

A common misconception is that little can be done for people with chronic musculoskeletal conditions, but this is not true. As a pharmacist you can support people with these conditions to live well and deal with their condition. Use the resources on this page to learn how to prevent disability by supporting your patients to aim for a healthy weight, increase physical activity and use medicines effectively.

This guideline covers the diagnosis, assessment and non-surgical management of osteoarthritis. It aims to improve management of osteoarthritis and the quality of life for people with osteoarthritis.

NICE Clinical guideline Rheumatoid arthritis in adults: management

Whether you're looking for information about your arthritis condition, or you want to support family and friends, we're here to help.

This factsheet should refresh your knowledge of osteoarthritis and provide you with links to appropriate further resources. 

This factsheet should refresh your knowledge of pain and provide you with links to appropriate further resources. 

This programme comprises eight interactive modules aimed at supporting clinicians in primary care to develop the competencies required for delivering consistent and effective musculoskeletal (MSK) care. Each module includes self-assessment elements and provides certification upon successful completion.

The MSK-HQ is a short questionnaire that allows people with musculoskeletal conditions (such as arthritis or back pain) to report their symptoms and quality of life in a standardised way.

The Fingertips MSK local health profiles tool allows users to view local OA prevalence alongside the national average.

The Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) is the umbrella body for the arthritis and musculoskeletal community in the UK, and our mission is to transform the quality of life of people with musculoskeletal conditions

We provide information and support services for those affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA), their families, friends, carers and health professionals.