Painfully frustrating
The reality of living with arthritis
Imagine being in so much pain you can’t brush your teeth, make a cup of tea,
get out of bed or even open your front door. Arthritis can often be dismissed
as a condition that only impacts older people, an inevitable part of ageing.
The reality is people living with arthritis experience severe pain and stiffness
in their joints and muscles. It can stop them from doing things that many of
us take for granted, like walking, moving, lifting or standing.
Arthritis can affect anyone at any time in their
life. One in six people in the UK live with the
pain of arthritis, including 15,000 children
and young people.1 Osteoarthritis is the most
common form.2 It leads to painful wear and
degeneration of the joints. When the hands
are affected by osteoarthritis, it is difficult to
undertake everyday activities, such as fastening
buttons, writing and opening food containers.
Osteoarthritis in the hips or knees can restrict
mobility, limit walking, climbing stairs, bathing
and personal care, and driving a car. Nearly
three quarters of people with osteoarthritis
report some form of constant pain, with one
in eight describing their pain as unbearable.3
In inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks and
destroys the joints and sometimes the internal
organs. A third of people with rheumatoid
arthritis will stop working within two years of
onset.4
Pain is often invisible. People with arthritis
often tell us that other people are just not
aware of how severely it can impact on their
life. In this report, we want to bring to life the
impact of living with arthritis. We hope that
it will inspire you to find out more about the
condition and the work that we are doing to
take the pain away.
What is it like to live with
arthritis every day?
We asked over 9,000 people how arthritis or joint
pain impacts on their everyday life. Unsurprisingly,
they told us that almost every part of their lives is
affected.
• Due to the pain and stiffness in the joints, more
than half of people surveyed said that they had
difficulty walking.
• Over two fifths struggled with basic household
jobs. People with severe arthritis can have
difficulty lifting or carrying heavy objects for
more than a few minutes. This means that
everyday tasks, such as using the oven, the
washing machine or washing up, become
impossible.
• Two thirds struggled carrying out heavier
household tasks, like gardening, hoovering or
mopping the floor.
• Although people with arthritis and joint pain
often want to continue working, a quarter of
people we surveyed said that joint pain had
affected their work.
• When tasks like dressing, getting in and out of
the bath, washing and brushing hair, undoing
and doing up bra straps or fastening buttons
become nearly impossible, it can often cause
frustration, lead to a lack of independence and
an over-reliance on partners, friends and family.
Unsurprisingly, this can cause relationships with
friends and family to suffer. One fifth of people
we surveyed, reported having difficulties with
their family because of arthritis and joint pain.
• When living with sore and aching joints, being
intimate with a partner can also become difficult.
Thirteen per cent said that their sex life has
been affected.
• It is unsurprising, therefore, that living with pain
and frustration can impact on people’s mental
health. Research shows that over two thirds
(68 per cent) of people with osteoarthritis report
feeling depressed when the pain is at its worst,
and people with arthritis are twice as likely
to have thoughts of suicide than the general
population.5
* Findings from Arthritis Research UK’s National Arthritis Survey 2012. Results
are based on 9,250 responders of the survey submitted by February 2013.
The statistics tell an all too common story…
Christine, osteoarthritis, age 70
In her 30s Christine experienced pain in her
knees, in her 40s she had pain in her hip and
in her 50s she started to get painful nodules
on her hands. After she was diagnosed with
osteoarthritis, it became increasingly difficult for
her to “do the kind of things that many people
take for granted.” She struggled to hold a pen or a
sewing needle, and she found that a paint brush
would fall out of her hands.
Eleanor, rheumatoid arthritis, age 38
“Since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis
four years ago my life has changed beyond all
recognition… I am now on long term sick leave
from the job I loved. I have found the loss of
career and previous lifestyle very hard to come to
terms with and have been treated for depression.”
Emily, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, age 17
Over the past two years, Emily has lived with the
pain and fatigue caused by juvenile idiopathic
arthritis and the drugs that she has taken to
try and manage the condition have caused her
debilitating side effects such as sickness and
headaches. “I’ve found it really hard over the last
two years, especially dealing with medication
side effects and joint pain whilst taking my GCSEs.
I was too ill to sit most of my exams, I managed to
pass my art exam but the pain I felt in my hands
nearly stopped me from holding the paint brush.
How would you feel if you couldn’t do these
everyday tasks?
How would you feel if you couldn’t play with your kids or take your exams or put your clothes on in
the morning because you couldn’t do up your bra strap or fasten your buttons? If suddenly opening
a can, chopping carrots or boiling a kettle became impossible and painful tasks?
In September 2013, we asked 2,000 members of the general public, how they would feel if they
couldn’t do these things that we generally take for granted.6
When asked about how they would feel if they had similar struggles with everyday tasks, survey
respondents said that they would be most frustrated if they couldn’t walk (73 per cent), get dressed
(72 per cent), do basic household tasks, like cooking, cleaning or washing dishes (70 per cent) or
opening containers (67 per cent).
walking
73%
getting dressed
72%
doing basic household tasks
70%
coping with family
70%
opening containers
67%
writing/typing
67%
brushing teeth
66%
getting in and out of a car
65%
doing heavier houshold tasks
Everyday tasks
become a painful
struggle.
64%
shopping
62%
making a cup of tea
62%
working
62%
brushing hair
57%
exercising
56%
having sex
55%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Alan Silman, Medical Director, Arthritis Research UK, “Pain is the key symptom for people suffering
from arthritis. For those people living with pain and stiffness in their joints, it can be a constant
battle to fight their pain, stay active and stay positive. People with arthritis often tell us that other
people, even those closest to them, don’t understand the impact that arthritis can have on their
lives because pain is invisible.”
“Research we are funding is helping us to understand more about the different forms of arthritis,
the pain that they cause and new treatments to take this pain away. We are training health
professionals to spot the signs and help people to get the right treatment and advice sooner, and
we are providing people with the information to help them to manage their conditions. But there
is much more that we need to do to win the fight against arthritis. This National Arthritis Week, we
are encouraging people to make a joint effort pledge to help us to raise awareness of arthritis and
continue our life changing work.”
Make your joint effort pledge to Give, Share and Learn more about arthritis.
Go to www.nationalarthritisweek.org to make your pledge.
References
1. Royal College of General Practitioners Birmingham
Research Unit (2006). Annual prevalence report.
2. Sacks JJ, Helmick CG, Luo YH, Ilowite NT, Bowyer S.
Prevalence of and annual ambulatory health care
visits for pediatric arthritis and other rheumatologic
conditions in the United States in 2001-2004. Arthritis
Rheum 2007; 57(8):1439-45.
3. Arthritis Care (2012), OA Nation.
4. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2009).
NICE Clinical Guideline CG79: The management of
rheumatoid arthritis in adults.
5. Maria G. Tektonidou, Abhijit Dasgupta, Michael M. Ward,
(2011) Suicidal ideation among adults with arthritis:
Prevalence and subgroups at highest risk. Data
from the 2007–2008 National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey Arthritis Care & Research 2011;
63(9):1322–1333.
6. Populus interviewed a random sample of 2,036 GB
adults aged 18+ from its online panel between 4th–
5th September 2013. Surveys were conducted across
the country and the results have been weighted to the
profile of all adults. Populus is a founder member of the
British Polling Council and abides by its rules. www.arthritisresearchuk.org
Registered Charity England and Wales No. 207711, Scotland No. SC041156.