News Upfront The latest arthritis news and research Getting waiting times into the news At the end of July, Zo Chivers, our Director of Services and Influencing, was on BBC Breakfast discussing the effect of the NHS backlog. Many people with arthritis waiting for joint replacement surgery are making the difficult and expensive decision to pay for it themselves. Its crucial that the backlog and difficulty in accessing joint replacement surgery doesnt further exacerbate existing health inequalities. Brenda, a Versus Arthritis campaigner, developed severe osteoarthritis in late 2019 and was told she needed a double hip replacement. She got one on the NHS, but was on a long waiting list for the other. After speaking about the effect that waiting times were having on her on BBCs Panorama last year, a viewer called and offered to pay for her second operation. Brenda had the 11,000 operation in February and said it absolutely changed my life. But Brenda, who is in her early 60s, said there were thousands of people in her position who were still suffering because they were unable to get treatment. RESEARCH OUTCOME: FATIGUE AND THE LIFT STUDY Researchers at the universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow who led the study say the findings mean these treatments should become a core part of treating IRDs. 3. The usual care group received a Versus Arthritis education booklet on fatigue. The physical activity and cognitive behavioural approaches were delivered by NHS rheumatology healthcare professionals. Many people with inflammatory arthritis find that fatigue makes their pain and joint stiffness worse, and some find it causes them to feel irritable or depressed. What is the LIFT study? Despite its impact, fatigue is difficult to treat in people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs) because it doesnt respond to medicines and can often go unrecognised by clinicians. Versus Arthritis LIFT study has found that non-drug treatments such as physical activity and talking therapies delivered by non-specialists can significantly improve fatigue across this entire group of inflammatory conditions. What did the researchers do? They compared three types of care, as provided to 368 people with various inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Participants were assigned to one of three groups: 1. The physical activity group were given an average of five one-toone phone-delivered sessions over 30 weeks, designed to help build physical activity into their lives at their own pace. 2. The cognitive behavioural group were given an average of eight sessions over 30 weeks, which included talking therapies, goal setting and a daily activity diary. What have they found? Telephone-delivered physical activity and cognitive behavioural approaches significantly improved fatigue compared with those receiving usual care. There were significant reductions in the severity and impact of their fatigue and these benefits were maintained for six months following completion of their treatment. There were also improvements in their mental health and sleep. To read more, visit the news section of the Versus Arthritis website. 5 Inspire Autumn 22 pp05 Upfront News.indd 5 16/08/2022 16:38