No, I haven’t been off on my travel again… but hopefully that stunning image has captured your attention! From Friday 12th October, through to Saturday 20th October 2018, we’ll be celebrating Bone and Joint Week 2018, the campaign theme of which is, musculoskeletal conditions: The elephant in the room?
Bone and Joint Week is a Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health initiative, providing an opportunity for us to highlight that musculoskeletal conditions of the bones, joints and muscles are a big problem. In the UK, over 17 million people live with a musculoskeletal condition; meaning that more people experience disability from musculoskeletal conditions than anything else.
The aim of this year’s campaign, led by the
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) in the UK, is to encourage policy and decision makers to shift mindset and take action to champion good musculoskeletal health of the bones, joints and muscles across the life course – from childhood through to old age.
By using the ‘elephant in the room’ theme, it’s time to really place the spotlight on musculoskeletal conditions – focusing on the questions and challenges that are commonly known, but rarely discussed. We need to focus on the breadth of musculoskeletal conditions affecting people – ranging from juvenile idiopathic arthritis and juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus in children, to ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and the many other types of conditions known to affect the musculoskeletal system. It’s a big problem, that millions of people around the world are having to deal with, each day.
During this annually occurring event, there are dedicated days to highlight major rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions. These include:
For Bone and Joint Week, ARMA will be releasing a series of infographics with key messages to be shared. Please feel free to retweet content from their Twitter account:
@WeAreARMA. Lookout for vlogs from the week-long event too.
NHS England and
Public Health England are supporting the event as well. If you share anything on social media, don’t forget to include the hashtag
#BoneJointWeek.
