Welcome friend! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Chloe Wilson, Director of Wilson Health Ltd. Chloe has over 10 years experience as a physiotherapist (aka physical therapist). She reached to me to review her book on knee arthritis and I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to learn about the topic and share with you all!
Chloe uses her knowledge to provide free comprehensive health information to the general public throughout the world in an easy to understand format. Her books and websites are there to help empower people to take control of their pain. I had many questions for her about arthritis and healthcare. I hope this interview is helpful to you! Let’s get started!
Hi Chloe! Welcome to Armed with A Book. It is a pleasure to host you. Please tell me and my readers about yourself.
Thanks Kriti, it’s great to be here. My name’s Chloe, I’m in my mid-40’s and I live in Oxfordshire, England with my amazing husband, two fabulous teenagers and our adorable cats, Boo & Ninja!
I’m a physiotherapist by trade and worked in the NHS for over a decade, spent a year running a physical disability unit in a hospital in Kampala, Uganda, taught Pilates and now run my own company providing health information around the world, through a number of websites and books.
I’m also a keen runner and love rollercoasters and travelling.
You have authored a number of websites to share information about knee, ankle and shoulder injuries. When did you discover your passion to share healthcare advice?
One of my favourite parts of being a physio has always been explaining to people why they have pain, what has caused it and what they can do to get better. Knowledge really is power and makes a huge difference during the rehab process.
No one likes being in pain – not only is it really unpleasant, it can also be really scary. Medical jargon doesn’t help, particularly terms like “degenerative joint disease” and “microtrauma”.
But in my experience, when people understand what is wrong with them, not only does it take away the fear and anxiety, it also empowers them to get back in the driving seat and take control. For example, you’re much more likely to stick with a rehab program if you know why you are doing it!
We are so lucky in the UK to have amazing free healthcare thanks to the NHS, but waiting lists are creeping up and up, particularly since covid-19. And so many people around the world don’t have access to good healthcare, whether due to poverty, lack of insurance, location, time etc. And I’m not ok with that.
So I started building websites to share free, high quality healthcare information that can be accessed anywhere in the world, to help reach those people that don’t have ready access to medical care or information.
When I started I had no ideas what to expect, but fast forward to the present and my sites now reach around half a million people every month, all over the world. Nothing beats that feeling when I get an email from one of those visitors, thanking me for the site and telling me about the impact it has had on them. That’s why I do it!
We connected when you reached out about your book, Knee Arthritis: Take Back Control: From Exercises to Knee Replacements & Everything In Between. How did the idea for this book come to be?
One of the most popular sections on knee-pain-explained.com is the Knee Arthritis section. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the US and affects around 16 million people worldwide.
Whilst the symptoms of arthritis fluctuate and there is a lot that can be done to slow the progression of arthritis, it’s one of the conditions that doesn’t go away. People go through good spells and bad spells with it and find different treatments helpful at different times.
An increasing number of my readers were asking if there was a printed version, or any books I would recommend. They wanted a physical book they could keep referring back to as needed rather than having to hunt around on the internet.
So I decided to enter the world of book writing! It took a lot of time, research and dedication, but 6 months later, Knee Arthritis: Take Back Control was published and has now sold over five thousand copies, worldwide and is the top selling book on Knee Arthritis on Amazon.
What is knee arthritis? What have your experiences been with knee arthritis?
Knee arthritis is a collective term which simply means “inflammation in the knee”. There are loads of different types of knee arthritis, but the most common by far is Osteoarthritis, where there is wear and tear in the knee bones and cartilage. The bones start rubbing on each other and bone spurs develop which can lead to pain, stiffness, reduced function and some very strange noises when you move your knee!
Knee arthritis can range from being very mild where there might only be slight discomfort occasionally, to severe arthritis where knee movement is hugely restricted and there may be a lot of pain, particularly first thing in the morning, both of which can have a huge impact on daily life.
I’ve seen countless patients with knee arthritis, at all different stages, from the initial diagnosis right the way through to the recovery and rehab following knee replacement surgery. There are loads of things you can do to help reduce knee arthritis pain.
When you first learned about knee arthritis, was there a fact or an experience that people were repeatedly sharing that stuck with you?
Whenever I ask people what they think knee arthritis is, the most common response I get is that the think their bones are crumbling. They feel like their knee is slowly (or not so slowly!) wearing away. They think that exercise will make things worse and that they are just going to have to put up with the pain until, finally, they’ll have to give in and have that knee replacement – but they want to wait as long as possible because they don’t think it’ll really fix anything.
But nothing could be further from the truth!
What kind of resources did you refer to for this book?
This book is a real mix of my experience over more than 10 years as a physiotherapist and evidence based research.
I specialised in musculoskeletal physiotherapy with a special interest in knees, which included post-graduate training with the Society Of Orthopedic Medicine and working on the trauma and orthopaedic wards at the John Radcliffe Hospital and Nuffield Orthopedic Centre in Oxford.
I was privileged to work with world-renowned surgeons at the cutting edge of orthopaedic surgery giving me some amazing opportunities such as being the lead physio for the UK’s first ever combined ACL and partial knee replacement surgery.
Part 1 of your book looks in-depth at knee arthritis covering issues such as the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options, Part 2 concentrates on knee replacement surgery. Was there one part that was more challenging than the other?
I think the most challenging part of writing the book is that arthritis presents differently in different people. For example, one person with severe arthritic changes on x-ray may have very little pain whereas another with only mild changes on x-ray may be really restricted.
I wanted to write a book that was relevant to someone in their 50’s who’s just noticing the first few twinges of arthritis pain, to someone in their 80’s about to have a knee replacement and everyone in between.
And that’s where the title came from Knee Arthritis: Take Back Control – from knee exercises to knee replacements and everything in between. Whatever stage you are at in the arthritis journey, this book is for you.
What’s something you have learned from your years working as a physical therapist?
Pain isn’t the same thing as damage. Just because something hurts, it doesn’t mean it’s dangerous or that we shouldn’t do it. Take a paper cut or a mouth ulcer for example. They can be really, really painful, but there is actually very little damage.
Pain is our body’s alert system. It’s like a smoke alarm – our brain senses that something isn’t right and sounds the alarm. Our natural instinct is that if something hurts, we shouldn’t do it. Now in some cases that’s true – you don’t want to go around walking on a broken leg for example! But often it’s just our body’s way of telling us to be a little bit careful.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from this book?
I hope readers come away from reading this book feeling empowered. Feeling that they understand what knee arthritis is. Knowing how to help themselves in day to day life, whether it’s what foods to eat and what to avoid, how much exercise is right, what treatments can help, and to not be scared.
And I hope they come away knowing that if they get to the stage where they do need surgery, they know what to expect, how to prepare themselves, how to do rehab well and how to make the best possible recovery.
If you could give a shout out to someone(s) who has helped in your writer journey, please feel free to mention them below!
There are two people who definitely deserve a mention. First, my old boss, Sarah Baimbridge. She really took me under her wing, shared her passion for musculoskeletal physio and gave me some amazing opportunities to develop as a physio. She’s the reason I become a musculoskeletal physio with a special interest in the lower limb.
And secondly, my husband Stu. He has faithfully walked the journey with me through the transition from physiotherapist to website creator to book writer. He has tirelessly proof read webpages and both of my books and is an excellent resource for checking that what I’ve written makes sense to a non-medic!
What’s something new you learned today?
Thank you so much for joining us! You can learn more about Chloe’s work on her website. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn. Find Chloe’s book on Goodreads and Amazon.
Cover image: Photo on Unsplash
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