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FMA UK takes part in first MSK World Summit

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Category: Conferences

Published on Wednesday, 15 October 2014 12:33

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FMA UK had a display at the summit held last weekend and was represented by the chair of the trustees Pam Stewart to ensure fibromyalgia is included

The UK is to host the first MSK World Summit to tackle the impact of musculoskeletal disorders.

On Sunday 12^th and Monday 13^th of October, London will be hosting the first-ever MSK World Summit, calling on governments across the world to unite in adopting concrete measures to promote musculoskeletal (MSK) health and reduce the enormous impact of MSK disorders nationally and globally.

The event, which is being organised by the Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) – the Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health – and the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) UK,  will take place over two days at the Royal College of Surgeons, London, and will bring together experts from across the globe and across the MSK community, including senior representatives from the World Health Organisation and the European Commission as well as the UK Government, NHS England and Public Health England.

The outcome of the meeting will be a call for explicit actions by policy makers at national and international levels to deal with this growing burden of disability through prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and research. Most importantly, it calls for priority in the implementation of such plans to avoid preventable disability.

Prof. Tony Woolf, Chair of the Bone and Joint Decade, said, “Health policy across the world has ignored diseases which affect the quality of lives and independence of people living with them and focused on those with high mortality such on cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Now with people living longer it is time for priority to be placed on dealing with this enormous burden from arthritis, back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions to prevent unnecessary pain and disability and enable people to keep independent. Despite effective ways of preventing and treating these conditions, many people do not have access to them because they are not a priority. This Summit aims to change that.”

Phil Gray, Chair of ARMA, said, “When it comes to improving public health, providing cost-effective care and keeping people with long-term conditions independent and in work, the treatment and management of musculoskeletal disorders is clearly where the big wins are, and that’s where the attention needs to be. ARMA is delighted to be hosting this milestone event for the global MSK community and to help spearhead global efforts to improve the quality of life of the many millions of people living with musculoskeletal disorders, not just in the UK but across the world.”

In particular, the MSK community in the UK is specifically calling for coordinated action from the Department of Health, NHS England, Public Health England and Local Government to promote musculoskeletal health, prevent musculoskeletal disease and address the growing burden of musculoskeletal conditions across the UK. This includes:

·         Ensuring timely and equitable access to personalised healthcare including self-management support, drug and non-drug treatment

·         Raising awareness of the role of appropriate physical activity in maintaining musculoskeletal health

·         Recognising the relationship between obesity and musculoskeletal pain, and benefits of maintaining healthy weight

·         Enabling people with musculoskeletal conditions to remain in, or return to work

·         Supporting research to advance knowledge and improve care

The Summit marks the start of Bone and Joint Action week, which is an annual global event focused on promoting activities which can alleviate or help prevent MSK disorders including arthritis, back pain, osteoporosis and trauma.

For more information please visit the ARMA website.