Innovation network launches osteoarthritis pain app

^{Nicky Wilson said the ESCAPE Pain app is an ideal tool to point patients with joint pain towards}

The app has been produced for the NHS by the Health Innovation Network, an academic health science network in south London, and e-health company Salaso Health Solutions.

In a statement, they said that it has been designed as an ‘aide-memoire’ to help people who have already completed the programme to continue to self-manage their osteoarthritis.

It is available free from the Apple App Store and can be found here or by searching for ESCAPE Pain.

ESCAPE Pain itself is a twice-weekly, six week evidence-based programme that combines education and exercise, to benefit people with osteoarthritis.

The programme is usually delivered by physiotherapists in hospital outpatient departments, but it can also be delivered by other professionals in a range of community settings.

It has been adopted by 32 sites, including 12 across south London, benefiting more than 1,500 people, and continues to spread across the UK, according to the Health Innovation Network.

Mike Hurley, CSP member, professor of rehabilitation sciences and originator of the ESCAPE Pain programme, said: ‘Thanks to the ESCAPE Pain app anyone with chronic knee or hip pain can benefit from the programme, regardless of where they live. It is a tool that’s ideal to support people to exercise safely and regularly in their own home.’

Nicky Wilson, consultant physiotherapist at King's College Hospital NHS Trust, London, said: ‘People with joint pain are always looking for reliable resources to help them manage their condition and better cope with pain. The ESCAPE Pain app is an ideal tool to point them towards.’