Library and Resources
At AStretch we are committed to ensuring that up to date information is made available to a wide audience. If you have anything you would like to contribute, please contact us on: comms@astretch.co.uk
Best Practice in Assessment:
The NICE GUIDANCE on Spondyloarthritis, covers the diagnosis and mangement of Spondyloarthritis. Raising awareness of the symptoms of inflammatory back pain can break through the challenges of diagnosis and reduce diagnostic delay. Physiotherapists are well placed in screening these patients as the physiotherapy department may be the first port of call. Early onward referral to Rheumatology when appropriate can improve diagnostic standards and improve outcomes for this group of patients.
Early Diagnosis of inflammatory back pain is essential for effective treatment and good management of Axial Spondyloarthritis.
AStretch members have worked tirelessly in promoting early recognition of inflammatory back pain. We were involved in the delivery of facilitated workshops in the NASS Back Pain Seminars between 2012 and 2014 reaching almost 900 delegates throughout England and Wales. The seminars informed delegates how to distinguish inflammatory back pain from mechanical back pain and other types of back pain.
Back in Focus have produced e-learning modules to assist recognition, diagnosis and management of AxSpA.
These modules are now available for AHP EDUCATION: click here
Here is a quick and easy online diagnostic tool that will help you to define the likelihood that your patient with back pain is likely to have Axial Spondyloarthritis: http://www.spadetool.co.uk/
LOCAL INITIATIVES:
Here you will find a useful presentation link, describing experiences in 2017, using these e-learning modules as part of in house training for musculoskeletal physiotherapist who are likely to come into contact with people describing chronic low back and joint pain and to flag up the possibility of Spondyloarthritis.
This presentation was devised as an interactive session for The British Society of Rheumatology 2014. Combining some of the diagnostic principles in distiguishing back pains and based on two short videos. You can interact with this presentation by trying to answer the questions yourself and follow this up with the evidence based answers and discussions that follow. Unfortunately we cannot publish these videos, however, a short summary is provided for you to work from.
A DVD produced to educate potential referrers in recognition of inflammatory back pain, appears here : http://fliphtml5.com/jnzs/choj
This 2017 article published in Horizons and gives some insight for extra scope and advanced physiotherapy practitioners in the musculoskeletal fields. It highlights the difficulties in teasing out some of the often subtle differences in back pain presentations found in clinical practice and subsequent diagnostic decision making.
Campaigning for early diagnosis, how to get involved:
http://nass.co.uk/nass/en/get-involved/campaigning/back-pain-plus/
http://nass.co.uk/test/campaigning/raise-awareness-of-as-in-your-hospital/