Waiting can be most painful part of arthritis, say sufferers

Laura Hickey first recalls being in pain at the age of 6 as she sat on her dad’s knee having anti-inflammatory cream rubbed into her joints.

Later she would have to go to her GP to have fluid syringed out and then she was told she must give up her beloved sports and dancing.

She was diagnosed with arthritis at the age of 10 and it was a huge blow. “I was a real active, go-getter child so it was very hard to deal with,” she says.