Much information about the bone condition, osteoporosis, is too difficult to understand. It is also sometimes misleading. New research makes recommendations for improvements. The aim is for people with the condition to have high quality, more readable information.  People with osteoporosis have weakened bones that become more likely to break. Many know little about their ...

Following knee replacement surgery, a home-based exercise programme delivered by rehabilitation assistants was as effective as traditional physiotherapy given at a clinic. New research found that both approaches had a similar effect. Increasing numbers of people are having knee replacements and needing rehabilitation. As many one in three say that surgery does not lead to ...

Using a tourniquet in knee replacement surgery raises the risk of serious complications such as blood clots and infection. A new analysis of thousands of knee replacements also confirms that patients had more pain the day after surgery if a tourniquet was used. Tying a tight band (tourniquet) around an injured arm or leg has ...

People with painful rheumatic conditions such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis are at increased risk of self-harm. New research found the risk was highest for those with fibromyalgia, who were twice as likely to harm themselves as people without the condition.  Rheumatic conditions are characterised by pain in joints, muscles and/or connective tissue. People ...

Research using large national datasets has confirmed that surgery for the common hand disorder Dupuytren’s disease is safe and effective. When surgery needs to be repeated, however, there are higher risks of serious complications such as finger amputation.  In Dupuytren’s disease, the tissue beneath the skin of the palm becomes thickened; this often does not ...

A so-called frozen shoulder is painful and stiff for months and sometimes years. People with the condition may be unable to move their arm or shoulder and the pain may disturb their sleep. The three treatments most often offered by the NHS are physiotherapy, manipulation of the shoulder under general anaesthesia, and a form of ...

People over 60 who need surgery after breaking a hip are discharged from hospital sooner if they get moving quickly.  The largest study of its kind found that those who get out of bed on the day of hip surgery, or the day after, were twice as likely to leave hospital within 30 days.  The ...

Most shoulder replacements last longer than 10 years. A new study – one of the most complete reports to date – found that patients can expect large and long-lasting improvements in pain, strength, range of movement, and their ability to complete everyday tasks. Before surgery, patients want to know how they will benefit from surgery and ...

A programme of exercises for people with rheumatoid arthritis improves hand strength and function. The Strengthening and Stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) programme is recommended by NICE following positive results in a large clinical trial. Therapists were initially trained face-to-face to deliver the SARAH programme. To speed up its routine use in ...

A large trial of interventions for people with shoulder pain showed that they benefitted more from personalised exercise programmes supervised by physiotherapists than from an exercise leaflet and standard advice. It also showed that guiding shoulder injections using ultrasound provided no added benefit over the usual, non-guided approach to these injections. Pain associated with structures ...