Helping to achieve an active life

When Anne fell while out for a walk and was sent for an X-ray, she had no idea that she was suffering from osteoarthritis. The diagnosis came as a shock and was followed by severe pain in her knee and serious restrictions on her mobility which affected her daily life. Says Anne,

“I couldn’t kneel down on the floor to play with my grandson or manage to do jobs in the house and garden which I had always done,”

As well as helping out with child care she also has an elderly mother who relies on her, but Anne was finding that she was having to rely on other people to help. She was taking Ibuprofen to try and manage the pain but was determined not to spend the rest of her life on painkillers. Being in a group ‘My daughter-in-law saw that an ESCAPE-pain programme was starting in my local area of North Yorkshire and I was able to sign up and take part,’ Anne explains. ‘As well as the physical exercises, all of which we could then do at home, we talked about what might trigger our conditions, how to manage pain and the importance of diet.’ She found that being in a group was beneficial as the participants were able to support and encourage each other.

The facilitators tailored the exercises to suit the individual participant’s needs.

Anne found that she benefited immediately and when the group sessions had finished, she used the ESCAPE-pain app to carry on exercising at home. Anne also encouraged a neighbour to follow the programme.

Anne describes herself now as ‘not in pain and not on medication’. She has a very active life and credits the ESCAPE-pain programme with helping her to achieve this. ‘It’s about taking responsibility for your own health,’ she says.