This joint strategy from Public Health England, NHS England and Versus Arthritis sets out a five-year, whole-system plan to prevent musculoskeletal conditions and improve musculoskeletal health across every stage of life, identifying priorities and evidence-based interventions worth scaling up nationally.
What was studied?
The framework sets out four priorities: work and health, evidence into practice, data and intelligence, and workforce development, naming interventions worth scaling up, including exercise-based approaches and structured self-referral to physiotherapy.
What did they find?
Musculoskeletal conditions affect over 14.9 million people in England, accounting for 22.1 percent of the country's total illness burden. The NHS spends over 5 billion pounds a year on these conditions, which cause 28 million lost working days annually, and only 59.4 percent of affected working-age people remain employed.
Why it matters
This gives an official, national picture of how significant musculoskeletal health is as a public health priority, affecting nearly 15 million people in England, with major impacts on work and quality of life.
Why we included it
It reflects a wider principle behind good musculoskeletal care: preventing problems and intervening early, before pain becomes severe, does more for long-term wellbeing than treating flare-ups after the fact.
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What was studied?
The framework sets out four priorities: work and health, evidence into practice, data and intelligence, and workforce development, naming interventions worth scaling up, including exercise-based approaches and structured self-referral to physiotherapy.
What did they find?
Musculoskeletal conditions affect over 14.9 million people in England, accounting for 22.1 percent of the country's total illness burden. The NHS spends over 5 billion pounds a year on these conditions, which cause 28 million lost working days annually, and only 59.4 percent of affected working-age people remain employed.
Why it matters
This gives an official, national picture of how significant musculoskeletal health is as a public health priority, affecting nearly 15 million people in England, with major impacts on work and quality of life.
Why we included it
It reflects a wider principle behind good musculoskeletal care: preventing problems and intervening early, before pain becomes severe, does more for long-term wellbeing than treating flare-ups after the fact.