Introduction

If you’re living with hip, knee, or lower back pain, the ESCAPE-pain musculoskeletal (MSK) programme can help you take control and manage your pain to support you to feel better in your job role and in life.

What ESCAPE-pain is

ESCAPE-pain stands for Enabling Self-management and Coping with Arthritic Pain using Exercise and is a national programme that can be delivered by various professionals in a range of ways.

It’s a friendly, practical course that combines simple exercises with advice on how to manage your pain. You’ll learn what works for your body, build your confidence, and start feeling the benefits of staying active.

What does the programme involve

The programme offers two free weekly one hour sessions over a six-week period. Our sessions are held virtually over Microsoft Teams and are led by a Live Well Work Well instructor. Each group will consist of up to 10 members of staff with either knee and hip pain or lower back pain.

Each session will consist of an:

• Education component - a 15 to 20 minute discussion with the members of your group about the problems, the pain you experience and ways to cope and manage the pain.
• Exercise element - 40 to 45 minutes of exercises tailored to your requirements.

During your first and last session you will complete a questionnaire so we can track the progress you have made during the programme.

Programme aims

The aims of the programme are to enable you to:

• Understand your condition better

  You’ll learn what is causing your pain.
  
  

• Manage your symptoms

  Provide you with practical tools and techniques to reduce discomfort and manage your pain more effectively.
  
  

• Carry out normal everyday activities

  Improve strength and mobility to make activities more manageable.
  
  

• Recognise exercise is safe and you can continue to do it

  Build your confidence moving safely and understand the right activities can ease your symptoms.
  
  

• Become more active

  Increase your activity levels in a way that feels achievable and suits you.

Support

As part of the programme we’ll help you:

• exercise safely and pace yourself
• set your personal goals
• manage flare ups
• remain positive
• maintain or improve your diet to become healthier
• share ideas and gain tips from your colleagues who experience similar pain.

Who can apply

The programme is available to all staff, including casual or part time employees. You can self-refer to the programme if you:

• suffer with chronic knee, hip or lower back pain
• are aged 18 or over
• are committed to completing a six-week course.