Supporting Bob Wilson’s ‘Taking the pain out of sport’ campaign won’t cost you a penny. « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager

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By Tony Attwood

As I have made repeatedly clear I was never a footballer, but even after I gave up my pointless escapades on grass after finishing as a student, I continued to play (I use the word in its most childish sense) five a side off and on.  Eventually I fell on my head, got very frightened by the effect on my eyesight and was zoomed into hospital where it was suggested that maybe I was a bit old for much more of that sort of larking about.

But I have done enough of other sports (and more particularly the more vigorous forms of dancing, if that can be called a sport) in later life to know what the pain of activity can be like – not so much the pain of a one off “carry him off the pitch” injury in my case, but just the pain of wear and tear on knees, elbows, back muscles etc as one gets older.

And of course this season we introduced the Injury Analysis by Dale,  on Untold which does keep tabs on who is hurting day by day – which reminds us all of how dangerous the whole thing can be.

So with all that background I read with interest about Arthritis Research with their new ‘Taking the pain out of sport’ campaign.

Obviously they already have an infinitely big marketing campaign given that the wonderful  Bob Wilson launched the show, and don’t need the 23 million readers every five seconds that Untold offers, but still it does seem to me to be worth a mention here – especially as there is something you can do, and it wont cost a penny.

In a nutshell, the campaign aims to find out more between the link between sport and exercise/sport related pain and injuries and the onset of conditions such Osteoarthritis (OA) (which can very much affect young people), as it’s very much an area we currently don’t know enough information about.

To improve medical knowledge into the prevention and management of sports injury, Arthritis Research is simply asking people to share their experiences of playing sports with them via a quick survey on the campaign site, www.painoutofsport.org.  At the end of the survey, people can enter a free prize draw to win £250 of Nike vouchers as a thank you for taking part.

There is a also a survey ‘button’ which you could upload to your own site if you so wish, plus they have a video of Our Bob talking about his experience of OA.

The research shows more than half of the UK’s active public has sustained a sports injury and many have concerns about the long term consequences for their joints and future mobility.  The organisation is aiming to keep people active and playing the sports they love for longer so any support you can give by filling in the form would be much appreciated!

And, here’s the bit from Bob Wilson

“Although my playing days are behind me, I still feel the strains of a top-level career which, as a goalkeeper, meant operations on both hips. I wasn’t aware that osteoarthritis could affect me at such a young age when I retired, and this view is shared by many people who aren’t fully informed about the risks of sport on the joints of the body. I am backing this Arthritis Research UK campaign to raise awareness of osteoarthritis as a result of sport, and hope others join me in bring this neglected condition to light.”

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