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ESCAPE-pain online

Access ESCAPE-pain Online

What is ESCAPE-pain Online?

ESCAPE-pain Online is a free resource produced in the NHS by the Health Innovation Network and Salaso Solution Ltd. It is a web-based version of the ESCAPE-pain app.

ESCAPE-pain Online offers participants an alternative platform from which to access the programme. It complements the well-established face-to-face group programme that is being delivered in hundreds of sites across the United Kingdom.

Professor Mike Hurley, originator of the ESCAPE-pain programme, says “Thanks to ESCAPE-pain Online, anyone with chronic knee or hip pain can benefit from the programme, regardless where they live. We developed it so that more people can access the programme. It will support people to exercise safely and regularly in their own home. It offers a new platform from which to access the programme so is particularly helpful for those that don’t live near a class or who don’t have access to a smart phone.”

Who can use ESCAPE-pain Online?

ESCAPE-pain Online is freely available to anyone but is aimed specifically at people who have knee or hip osteoarthritis. It was designed to support people who have attended the face-to-face ESCAPE-pain programme to continue to exercise after the programme has ended. We have also found it useful for people who don’t live near a face-to-face class.

What devices can I access ESCAPE-pain Online from?

Although it is best viewed on a computer, ESCAPE-pain Online also displays nearly-as-good, on smart devices. We have developed ESCAPE-pain Online so that people can access the programme whether they are using a mobile phone, tablet or personal computer.

If you normally use iOS (Apple) devices and would like to add ESCAPE-pain Online as a ‘favourite icon’ to the home screen of your phone/ tablet – see our guidance here.

How does ESCAPE-pain Online work?

ESCAPE-pain Online provide users with a structured education and exercise programme of 12 sessions over six weeks. There are two compulsory sessions per week and they are a combination of education and exercise.

  • Education – watch engaging animations and education videos to learn to manage your condition better.
  • Exercise – choose between 16 high quality exercise videos to improve your joint pain.

The programme requires you to record your progress and repetitions, which you are prompted to do with clear and simple guidance. Some exercises will ask you to record how many repetitions you completed in the allocated time, while others will ask you to just confirm if you completed the exercise or not.

What is the benefit of using ESCAPE-pain Online?

Strong, well-coordinated muscles are a necessity not a luxury. They protect your joints and can delay, even prevent, pain and disability, maintaining your independence and dignity. After 1-2 sessions you will learn that exercise isn’t painful and start to feel the benefits; such as being better able to do the exercises, feeling more confident, and feeling more in control. Start slowly, increase gradually, and follow the instructions in the videos, which have been developed to show you how to do the exercises safely in your own home.

What do I need to prepare before starting ESCAPE-pain Online?

  • Before starting your exercise session it’s always helpful to clear some space around you to make sure you will be safe and not bump into any furniture whilst doing the exercises.
  • Make sure you are wearing comfortable clothing and secure footwear.
  • Keep a bottle of water nearby and a hand towel.
  • Some exercises involve the use of a resistance band (TheraBand) – if you do not already have one you may wish to buy one. They can be bought from most sports shops, some supermarkets, or online. They are normally inexpensive and often come in packs of three which have different strengths.
  • One of the exercises involves the use of a static exercise bike. If you do not have access to one you can replace this exercise with any other or even just marching on the spot.
  • Read our safety tips here (half-way down the page).

Some top tips before you begin using ESCAPE-pain Online

  • ESCAPE-pain Online is a structured programme which requires you to complete two sessions per week over six consecutive weeks. You can only progress to week 2 when a full week has passed since you created your account. For example, if you set up your account on a Tuesday at 3pm, your second week would only be available on the following Tuesday at 3pm, and so forth.
  • Because the clock starts ticking for week 1 as soon as you register an account, only register your account when you are ready to start the programme.
  • The programme will ask you to complete a set of questionnaires in session 1 before you progress to the videos. It is important to complete these in full before logging out as the system might ask you to do them again the next time you log in.
  • There are 12 sessions in total. Each session has an education video and a selection of exercises.
  • The exercises can be completed at home or in any other suitable space. Each of the exercises has a demonstration video with written and spoken instructions. Each exercise video has a timer so you can countdown the time spent doing the activity. You have the option of choosing a one or two-minute countdown. Once you have completed each exercise you will be prompted to either enter in the number of repetitions you were able to complete, or just confirm that you have finished the activity.
  • The programme requires you to choose the joint and side that is giving you the most difficulty and to record your progress for that joint only. Some people may present with both knee and hip osteoarthritis, but the programme does not have the capability to record separate scores for all of these. It is only designed to capture one score. This does not mean you can’t exercise on both sides, just that the programme won’t ask you to record both sets of repetitions.
  • Log out at the end of each session to allow the programme to update fully.
  • There is a ‘forgot your password’ feature in the bottom right of the login page, which you can click on to reset your password.

We recommend reading our full ESCAPE-pain support tools guidance before beginning to use the programme.

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