What is the Joint Care Programme in Merthyr Tydfil?
The Joint Care programme is a free 12-week course designed to help those who suffer from painful hips or knees. It comprises of weekly sessions that consist of:
- One hour of light exercise
- And, one hour of nutritional advice and practical cookery sessions.
All sessions take place at Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre.
Our Aim
The Joint Care Programme is designed to help those who are overweight and suffer from painful joints, typically osteoarthritis.
Losing weight and improving your agility can help reduce the pressure on the joints, as well as increasing strength around the joints to improve muscle quality.
In turn, this helps reduce or even eliminate symptoms entirely.
Patient outcomes
Patients reported that there have been significant improvements in pain, quality of life, function and fitness scores. Patients also reported improvements in wellbeing, confidence, mobility, strength and knowledge around cookery and nutrition.
How to get involved
If you suffer from painful hips or knees, ask your GP, nurse or physiotherapist about the Joint Care Programme and if you meet the criteria, they will refer you.
What happens when my referral is completed?
You will be contacted by phone or post to make an appointment to meet your exercise professional.
On your first visit, your exercise professional will meet you to find out more about your health history, carry out some basic health checks and discuss a choice of activities that are suitable.
To find out more, watch the Joint Care video at: https://www.facebook.com/HealthyMerthyr/videos/583780836108206
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