• NIA Innovations & COVID-19
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • FAQs
  • Case Studies
  • Contact Us
NIANIANIANIA
  • About
    • What the NIA offers
    • Selection Process
    • Core Team
    • Mentors
    • Partners
    • Collaborate
    • Apply
  • Fellows and Innovations
    • Overview
    • Fellows
    • Innovations
    • Alumni
  • Latest
    • Events
    • News & blogs

My Story: Enabling self-management and coping of arthritic pain

    Home Case Studies My Story: Enabling self-management and coping of arthritic pain
    NextPrevious

    My Story: Enabling self-management and coping of arthritic pain

    By admin | Case Studies | Comments are Closed | 5 March, 2018 | 0

    Arlene Rowe used to suffer from terrible pain because of her Osteoarthritis (OA), and found her life becoming more and more restrictive. Here, she explains the transformative impact that group physiotherapy programme, ESCAPE-pain, has had on her physically and mental wellbeing.

    “I first went to visit my doctor because I was having severe problems with my knees, hip and arm. I was in tremendous pain – I couldn’t use my left arm fully, and I started walking in a rather odd way. My house has three storeys, with 38 steps, so getting up and down them was becoming a serious problem. I found that life was becoming quite restrictive, which I was sad about, because I’ve always been a very active person. I found it difficult to get on trains, and I wasn’t sleeping because of the pain.

    Arlene Rowe pictured at home, Christmas 2017.

    “I was told I should consider having an operation… which I really didn’t want”

    “I was referred to another doctor who gave me steroid injections. She suggested that physiotherapy and perhaps hydrotherapy would help, but that I should consider having an operation on my hip and knees – which I really didn’t want to do. So, I went back to my doctor and he referred me to a physiotherapy specialist. It was this physiotherapist who suggested that I might be a suitable candidate for the ESCAPE-pain programme.

    “When I started the programme, I really couldn’t see how the pain in my limbs was going to go. But I’d learned from my husband’s experience that physiotherapy can do a lot for people, and I would have tried anything.

    “My life has changed massively… I’m not afraid to go out, to cross the road”

    “Since being on the ESCAPE-pain programme, my life has changed massively. My first goal was just to stand straight. Now, I’m not hunched over, and I’m beginning to walk properly.

    I’m still stiff, I’ve still got arthritis, but what I don’t have is the pain. Occasionally I get twinges, but nothing that makes me miserable. Being able to sleep at night is wonderful. I’m not afraid to go out, I’m not afraid to cross the road, I can get on and off the bus okay, and I can get on the train.

    “I’m determined to continue with the exercises. I long to have a bath – to be able to get into the bath! To walk faster – although I walk much more quickly than I did. It would be nice to be consistent in the way I move, and to move correctly. It just makes an incredible difference to your life; to not think ‘ouch’ every time you do anything, or to avoid trying new things, or to worry that you won’t be able to get onto the pavement safely when crossing the road.

    “I feel better mentally, as well as physically”

    “Were it not for ESCAPE-pain, I think I would have to have a walker, which obviously restricts what you can do. Previously, the pain stopped me from sleeping and moving any faster than at snail pace. Now I can sleep, I can think clearly. So, I feel better mentally, as well as physically.”

    ESCAPE-pain – or Enabling Self-management and Coping of Arthritic Pain – is a six-week group programme delivered to people aged 45 plus with OA. It is one of 37 high impact, evidence-based innovations on the NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA).

    • OA affects nearly ten million people, and accounts for two million GP consultations.
    • ESCAPE-pain has been shown to reduce pain, improve physical function, depression, health beliefs and general wellbeing in a randomised control trial (RCT).
    • Users benefit from sustained benefits for up to two and a half years after completing the programme.

    For more information email hello@escape-pain.org or visit www.escape-pain.org

    Download ‘My Story: Enabling self-management and coping of arthritic pain‘

    No tags.

    Related Posts

    • Continuing Healthcare Improvement: digital transformation in Cheshire and Wirral

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      This case study outlines the key lessons learned from the introduction of digital processes to the Continuing Healthcare (CHC) and Complex Care Service in Cheshire and the Wirral between 2016 and 2018. It draws togetherRead more

    • My Story: How an app revealed early stages of skin cancer

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      After becoming aware of an unusually coloured mole during a massage, William Webber turned to SkinVision. Following confirmation of a ‘high-risk result’ he consulted a specialist and tests revealed a Melanoma in situ – theRead more

    • How NIA Fellow, Asma Khalil, used the power of media and PR to promote the HaMpton app

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      Ever wondered how you could harness the power of the media to promote your health innovation? This case study highlights how one NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow worked with a PR agency to raise the profileRead more

    • Launching CATCH in Knowsley – A Case Study for Providers

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      This case study provides an overview of the roll-out process of the CATCH (Common Approach to Children’s Health) service, using the example of Knowsley, a borough in Merseyside. In brief Following commissioning of CATCH acrossRead more

    • Educating the next generation around health apps: ORCHA’s Digital Healthy Schools

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      Reflecting on the success around ORCHA’s Digital Healthy Schools, CEO and NIA Fellow, Liz Ashall-Payne, discusses how digital health apps can positively impact young people, with education delivered as part of the PHSE curriculum inRead more

    NextPrevious
    Contact Us
    nia@uclpartners.com
    @NHSAccelerator
    Newsletter Sign-Up
    Terms and Conditions | Privacy and Cookies
    NHS Innovation Accerlator
    Copyright 2017 NHS Innovation Accelerator
    • Menu
      • Latest
      • Case Studies
      • News and Events
      • Press and Media
      • FAQs (OLD)
      • Contact Us
    • Apply
    • Fellows and Innovations
      • Fellows
      • Innovations
    • Collaborate
    • Accelerator
      • Partners
      • What the NIA offers
      • Selection Process
      • Mentors
    NIA