A series of exercise classes and support sessions for people living with joint pain and other Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions is arriving at two Mansfield leisure centres in April.

MSK conditions includes things like arthritis, knee, lower back and hip pain. According to a GP survey carried out in 2020, it affects over 20% of the population of Mid-Nottinghamshire. The national average is 18.5%, which makes MSK conditions a focus in this region.

Carolyn Hallam, Health and Wellbeing manager for More Leisure Community Trust, which operates the leisure centres, said: “There are many thousands of local people living with joint pain, which is why we have decided to introduce these new classes and a social group chat session to support them.

“Good Boost Aqua Move, which uses award-winning rehab exercise technology, will take place at Rebecca Adlington Leisure Centre on Mondays at 12noon, and Water Meadows Leisure Complex on Wednesdays at 1pm and Fridays at 9am.

“We will also be running an NHS Escape Pain courses at Water Meadows, which will form part of our Healthy Life exercise referral scheme. This is a six-week course for people with lower back pain or hip and knee pain.

“Finally, we will be offering an Arthritis Social Group every Wednesday, also at Water Meadows. This is a free session for anyone living with arthritis or joint pain. No booking is needed. Just come along every Wednesday at 2pm for this one-hour friendly get-together.”

For the Good Boost aqua sessions, call reception to book: Rebecca Adlington Leisure Centre 0345 000 0230, Water Meadows 0345 000 0232. For enquires about Escape Pain, contact [email protected] or 07718 194 711.

These new sessions are run in conjunction with Good Boost, ESCAPE-pain, and Arthritis Action – they begin week commencing 15th April.