Ulrika Jonsson discusses marriage and divorce on Lorraine
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Ulrika Jonsson has explained how she manages the “debilitating” pain of arthritis, which she says feels like a burn but without the heat. The TV star, 54, was diagnosed with the condition in 2007, but thinks she has always suffered with it.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Ulrika revealed: “I don’t think you ever get a hold on it, because arthritis is so tricky and can be such a debilitating condition.
“I would say I work around it every single day of my life, it’s unavoidable.
“Because I do a lot of writing and I have to sit down, I have to try to be mobile and get up and be active.
“I sometimes have bad nights and ironically I had one last night, and I woke up with pain in both my hips.
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“So I’ve always slept with a pillow between my knees, and tried to use heat as an aid.”
The mum-of-four continued: “It can be miserable, but I have a high pain threshold, and because I have lived with it for so long, it’s so much part of what I am, you can’t fight against it.
“The best thing you can do is get little bits of help, the various products that Arthr do that I have found really helpful.”
New research from social venture Arthr showed 74% of people with arthritis say it affects their sleep*, almost a quarter (23%) said their sleep is disrupted every night by joint pain, and 28.5% say their sleep is disrupted 3-4 nights a week by joint pain.
Almost three quarters (72.5%) worry about the effect a lack of sleep because of joint pain will have on their quality of life, while 61% said that the pain from arthritis has a negative impact on their daily lives.
A whopping 31% said it negatively affects their mental health, while 28% said it reduces their productivity at work, school or university.
“This is very bizarre to imagine, but it feels like a period pain in your hip, it feels like a dragging, a pulling,” said Ulrika.
“It’s not a pain that goes away easily. Once you get the first niggle you know it’s going to be a while before it goes away. I can feel a bit of pain now because I’ve been sitting down a fair bit today.
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“And obviously off the back of me having had pain in the night, as I’m sitting to you I am gently massaging my hips, and after this conversation I will get up and walk around a bit.
“At its worst, it feels unbearable, like such a sharp pain. But I have a high pain threshold, so I am quite tough in that respect, so I can endure it, but it’s not nice.”
The former Gladiators host also opened up on her growing collection of tattoos – which includes a red devil on her bottom.
“I am fascinated by the art and the history of tattoos, it’s not a whimsical thing,” she explained.
“There is something in it about having control over what you do to your body and how you decorate it. And the pain from tattoos is completely bearable for me.
“That’s my pain threshold, I’ll often have a snooze while I’m having a tattoo done. That’s just me!
“Maybe I should have a little arthritis tattoo at some point,” added Ulrika.
*Survey carried out by Arthr via Vyper in March 2022. Total sample size of 775 adults with arthritis.
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