AHSN NENC Leads ESCAPE-pain Remote Training Collaboration

The Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC), in collaboration with the Innovation Agency NWC and the Health Innovation Network, has successfully led a project to enable participants to access the national ESCAPE-pain program during lockdown.

ESCAPE-Pain is an exercise-based group rehabilitation program for people aged 45+ with chronic joint pain of the hip and knee.

It is designed to improve function by integrating exercise, education, and self-management strategies to dispel inappropriate health beliefs, alter behaviour, and encourage regular physical activity.

The programme is ordinarily delivered face-to-face in group settings at a variety of healthcare and community venues, but due to the unprecedented lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic, participants have been unable to access ESCAPE-pain and manage chronic joint conditions.

Now, thanks to the efforts of Victoria Strassheim, Clinical Lead for ESCAPE-pain through the AHSN NENC, a series of remote ESCAPE-pain training videos have been filmed and produced to give participants immediate access to the program once again.

Victoria has filmed a series of 10 ESCAPE-pain sessions (18 videos in total) in her own home, which will enable ESCAPE-pain to continue, until such time that normal face-to-face classes can resume, which are considered the gold standard of delivery for the program.

Karen Oliver, Clinical Lead for ESCAPE-pain through the Innovation Agency NWC, has worked alongside Victoria to record and deliver the 10 education sessions included in the remote training videos.

Each full training session includes five videos: Education Session, Warm-Up, Exercise Session, Cool Down and Relaxation Session.

The videos have been designed for participants to complete full ESCAPE-pain sessions at their own pace, and as easily and as safely as possible in their own homes.

Victoria Strassheim said: “The footage was created with the aim of promoting ESCAPE-pain during social distancing, supporting Musculoskeletal services and maintaining people with osteoarthritis in their own homes with the ‘use it or lose it’ principle in mind.

“Karen and I wanted to help people explore what could be achieved in their own homes using the ESCAPE-pain ethos, signposting people to online support and activity to avoid deterioration, maintain and if possible, improve their baseline.

“We hope the videos will prepare people for when lockdown restrictions are reduced and they can find a face-to-face ESCAPE-pain class in their community and get on with the rest of their lives.”

The ESCAPE-pain Remote training Program videos will be delivered to participants in lockdown through registered program facilitators. Interested parties can contact the national team direct or read about it on the national ESCAPE-pain homepage.