Four out of five elderly suffer from joint pain

Four out of five people in their early sixties in the UK suffer from joint pain, according to research.

A survey of more than 1,000 men and women aged between 60 and 64 found that more than 50 per cent said their pain and discomfort interfered with their ability to carry out everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning or even picking things up.

The research was carried out for health charity Arthritis Research UK to mark World Arthritis Day (October 12).

Around 10 million people in the UK are affected by arthritis, an umbrella term used to describe 200 painful conditions which affect the joints and bones.

Osteoarthritis is the most common type, affecting over 8.5 million people in the UK, and usually first occurs in people between the ages of 40 and 60.

There is no cure and treatment usually involves a combination of drugs, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, advice on diet and surgery.

Patients are also strongly advised to keep in regular contact with their GP, so changes to their medication can be made and extra help arranged for them, if needed.

Professor Alan Silman, medical director at Arthritis UK, said: "These results are deeply concerning. We want people in their early sixties to be leading active, normal lives at this age, not living with pain or discomfort.

"Unfortunately, for many people joint pain can be a sign of early onset arthritis which is the biggest cause of pain and disability in the UK.

"Pain doesn’t always respond fully to drugs or physical treatments and can sometimes mean people need to rest more, which can result in a vicious circle of pain, anxiety and depression and also becoming unfit and overweight.

"Many people with joint pain are afraid to exercise because they believe that it will cause further damage to their joints.

"This may be the case if joints are actively inflamed but for most elderly people physical activity is generally beneficial to joints encouraging cartilage and bone to be healthy and building up muscle strength around joints.

More information:

For further information on arthritis and pain management www.arthritisresearchuk.org.

This article was published on Wed 12 October 2011