ARTHRITIS PAIN: Patient profile

by Alexander Stock, Belfast, Northern Ireland

From 1942 until 1945 I was a prisoner of the Japanese, and was employed throughout that time in the tropics as a labourer. I frequently had to lift and carry loads which I should not have attempted under normal circumstances. However, after release I quickly recovered and adequately performed my subsequent duties as a technical instructor, and later as an aircraft test engineer. It was during the 1970s that I became aware that I had osteoarthritis in my right knee, after seeing my GP who was himself a sufferer. He described my condition as OA which, he said, could also be interpreted as "Old Age".

The doctor had been to Hong Kong to study the use of acupuncture in the alleviation of this condition, and gave me a short course of treatment. This, combined with half an hour's swimming daily, greatly reduced the inconvenience. I was quite active during these years. I did my own gardening, including the digging, planting, and cultivation of vegetables in my own plot of ten rods or so.

For personal transport I depended upon a motor scooter on which I travelled to work each day. I also used the scooter when I went on holiday trips during the summer. This meant that I was doing, on average, a thousand miles a year. It was noticeable that the vibration of the footboard also helped reduce pain.

Unfortunately in the mid-1980s my boss noticed that my swimming during my lunch breaks sometimes extended beyond what he felt was a reasonable limit. He forbade me to continue swimming during office hours, with the agreement of the company medical officer. This was in spite of a written recommendation from my GP. As it was not practical for me to swim in the busy pool during the evenings, I had to give it up almost entirely.

In 1978 I won a low-powered motor-bike in a competition and disposed of the scooter. Later that year I skidded in tramlines and came off, causing slight injury to the muscles of my right leg. It was x-rayed in the casualty unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and the effect of my arthritis could clearly be seen. The injury healed after three weeks. I disposed of the motorbike and decided to use an ordinary bicycle instead. I found the pedalling helped the OA, but I missed the scooter for longer journeys.

So, expecting that I would be safer than on a motorbike I bought a 125cc scooter in 1991 and, later that year, set off on my annual holiday. Travelling westwards on the M2 I felt the back of the scooter start sinking so I turned on to the hard shoulder, came off, and slid to a standstill, only slightly bruised. When I recovered the machine a few days later I found that the back wheel had disintegrated due to the presence of fatigue cracks in its aluminium alloy.