Routine bone density tests run 10 years ago detected osteoarthritis in both of Lorraine McMahon’s knees.
“There was no pain at all, and being someone who was used to keeping fit and healthy, I just ignored it,” she said.
Lorraine carried on with life, until an accident with a piano changed her physical trajectory.
“My granddaughter got up [on the trailer] and started playing the piano, and she said, ‘come and play with me.’ Without thinking I go around to the end of the trailer, lift my right leg up to get up and my left hip went on me. I crunched up on the concrete,” she said.
Shortly after, the osteoarthritis symptoms presented in her knees.
“When the pain started, I thought, ‘It’ll go away.’ I tried everything. For me, surgery [was] a last resort. In the end there was no choice.
“Two weeks after a hip replacement, I moved in bed and my hip popped out,” she said.
Six months after her second hip replacement, Lorraine tore a ligament in her knee.
“I couldn’t exercise for a while, which probably made the arthritis worse. After the ligament healed, my GP referred me to the MOVE Program,” she said.
The MOVE Program (Managing Osteoarthritis via Exercise and Education) works with people with established knee and hip osteoarthritis to optimise their pain management through a variety of education and exercise programs.
Bendigo Health Physiotherapist, Grant Waldron, said an important part of the program is acknowledging osteoarthritis is a lifetime progressive disease that isn’t going to fix itself.
“With the exercise component we’re targeting lower limb strength, endurance and stability, so people can feel steadier on their feet,” he said.
A big part of the program is also setting up patients for long-term success.
“Ongoing self-management is crucial.
“[The program] aims to improve function and quality of life, so people are able to return to their meaningful hobbies,” he said.
After 16 weeks in the program, Lorraine has noticed a reduction in her pain, meaning she can babysit her grandkids again. She also regularly exercises at home, using the room with the same piano she moved all those years ago.
The MOVE Program runs twice a week at John Lindell Rehab Unit (JLRU) at Bendigo Health and Stewart Cowen Rehab Centre in Eaglehawk. For more information, call the JLRU reception on 5454 8500 or Stewart Cowen on 5454 6333.