LRCH rehab sessions help UHDB patients with osteoarthritis to get back on their feet
UHBD patients with arthritis in the knee are being helped to self-manage their condition at a rehabilitation group held at London Road Community Hospital.
The ESCAPE-pain programme is designed to help people with osteoarthritis to independently increase physical function and improve their quality of life – while offering an alternative option to surgery.
In addition to receiving an exercise plan tailored to their ability, patients are able to receive support and guidance from an experienced therapist at the sessions, as well as take part in group discussions to identify the changes they can make to effectively self-manage their condition at home.
Ali Crewesmith, senior physiotherapist, said: “The sessions are one of the highlights of my week. The patients are lovely and you see such a big difference in them during that time. It’s so rewarding.”
The six week rehabilitation programme requires patients to come in for sessions twice a week and offers an alternative option to surgery, with the LRCH courses helping to save more than £128,000 for the region’s health and social care sector in the last two-and-a-half years. 
ESCAPE-pain (Enabling Self-management and Coping with Arthritic Pain using Exercise) sessions are held at Trusts up and down the country, with 84 patients benefiting from successfully completing the programme at UHDB, between April 2019 and March 2020.
The majority of patients seen through the programme by our occupational therapists and physiotherapists are over 60-years-old, with one saying: “The course has improved my confidence in managing my knee symptoms.”
Another patient added: “After six weeks, I can now walk up the stairs without holding the bannister, which is something I didn’t think I would be able to do!”
The ESCAPE-pain course is funded by Public Health England and is endorsed and supported by NICE, British Society of Rheumatology, Royal Society of Public Health, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and Arthritis UK.
Patients can be referred to the programme, either internally through UHDB, or via their GP.