Tool helps tackle musculoskeletal conditions

A new tool designed to help health commissioners come up with more cost-effective ways to tackle musculoskeletal conditions within their populations has been developed by Public Health England (PHE).

The return on investment (RoI) tool is designed to help commissioners evaluate and decide on the best economic case for prevention. Among the recommended are:

• ESCAPE-pain, an exercise-based rehabilitation programme for knee pain, which PHE argued would return £5.20 in healthcare savings for every £1 spent
• Cognitive behavioural therapy, including exercise, for back pain, which would see £7.52 in both healthcare savings and quality of life year gains returned for every £1 spent
• Vocational advice from physiotherapists in primary care for all musculoskeletal conditions, which would return £11.14 in healthcare savings, quality of life year and productivity gains for every £1 spent.

PHE chief executive Duncan Selbie said: “The main way in which the NHS operates – you get ill, it fixes you – is unsustainable. People will have to take more responsibility for their own health and the NHS should intervene much earlier to help people avoid the need for expensive care.

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“Bad backs and joints cause the most sick leave at work and using this resource will both help to get people back into work, reduce pressure on the NHS and boost the local economy,” he added.

The latest resource is part of a growing suite of health and wellbeing tools being developed, with ones on falls prevention and “Best start in life” in the pipeline, said PHE.