Have your say on a new osteoarthritis and exercise website

Readers of Arthritis Today who have osteoarthritis of the knee are being invited to contribute to the design of a new website currently being developed that will help them manage their pain through exercise. 

ESCAPE-pain is an evidence-based rehabilitation programme for people with knee osteoarthritis. It combines self-management and coping strategies with a tailored progressive exercise regimen to help people understand their condition better and realise that exercise is a safe and effective way of self-management.

The six-week exercise programme was developed by Professor Mike Hurley some years ago. It's since been endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and implemented by a number of NHS physiotherapy departments in south London, Kent, Bristol and other sites in the UK.

With our £42,000 grant, Professor Hurley and his team at the Health Innovation Network (Academic Health Science Network for south London) launched a supporting website aimed at physiotherapists and allied healthcare professionals (pictured right). They've also been collaborating with the University of the West of England in Bristol to perform a scoping exercise.

The aim is to turn ESCAPE-pain into a user-friendly online programme, to be ready by autumn 2015, so that it reaches much larger numbers of people.

Patient input 

Now the team are asking for feedback on the prototype website from people with knee osteoarthritis.

“We want to know what people with osteoarthritis want to see in this programme, which we want to be low tech but high impact,” explained Professor Hurley.

“Once we’ve gathered patients’ views we’ll work with web designers to incorporate these into an online version that people will find usable, useful, accessible and effective.”

Project manager for the Health Innovation Network Des Carter added: “The online programme will be used by people who are new to ESCAPE-pain, as well as those who have completed it but want further support or a refresher.

"We’d like to hear people’s input and also to encourage them to spread the word about the ESCAPE-pain programme.

“The programme is unique in combining progressive exercise and education, and counters the fear held by many people that exercise may make pain worse.”

Dr Karen Robb, regional rehabilitation lead for London at NHS England, said: “It’s really important that we promote this programme and make sure it’s disseminated as widely as possible.”

How to get involved 

To register your interest in testing the prototype website, email hello@escape-pain.org

You can view the current healthcare provider website and learn more about the ESCAPE-pain programme by visiting www.escape-pain.org

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