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Psychotherapist and hypnotherapist Nick Davies explains how psychological pain can be managed to help physical pain.

​When we think about arthritis, there is a tendency to categorise it as an old person’s disease. We envision the little old lady struggling to make it across the road or the old man with a walking stick. But the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. There are thought to be around 10 million people living in the UK with the disease and these cover a range of ages from children right up to those over the age of 65.

Various factors can affect our body clocks but this is usually a temporary situation. A series of late nights, shift patterns that change and long flights can produce temporary effects such as mood changes and sleep disruption. We commonly refer to this as jet lag and do not view it as a serious problem but it is now widely recognised that our biological clocks are also important to our general well-being and health.

​Obesity has been known to be a serious health problem for many years, but the impact that being overweight can have on your knees is not always recognised. Seriously obese people are fourteen times more likely to develop osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee than people whose weight is within healthy parameters, so it follows that maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of knee pain due to this disease.

​There are over 100 different types of arthritis. The most common include osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), fibromyalgia and gout. Although there are many similarities between the different types of arthritis and the pain they cause, knowing which type you have can make the difference between successful treatment or further debilitation.

Osteoarthritis causes increasing joint pain and stiffness in the knee. Tenderness and swelling are also likely to be present. This may be particularly the case immediately after you wake up, after overusing your knee, or when resting.

​There is proof that the martial art tai chi can help with the symptoms and pain of knee osteoarthritis (OA). We look at the evidence below and explain how tai chi can improve the condition.

​Many of us are familiar with stories of people with injuries or joint conditions claiming to be able to predict the weather based upon their pain and stiffness. Whilst they are often met with polite nodding or even ridicule, there is evidence that there may be a genuine link between weather conditions and levels of pain. There is a growing body of research looking at the effect of weather on OA knee pain, but the results are far from conclusive.

​Any injury to the knee can be particularly painful. This includes the mobility issues that often arise from osteoarthritis. As the knee is so important when standing or walking, damage to the joint can have a negative impact on your ability to accomplish day-to-day tasks. It is not, however, just the physical discomfort that can make life more difficult. As with any long-term injury, chronic pain in the knee can have a negative effect on mental health. For example, it can increase the likelihood of experiencing depression or anxiety.