How learning to swim aged 30 helped me defeat the chronic pain I've suffered ... trends now
There was a man in front of me in the pool, hanging on to a foam float for dear life. He was kicking his feet frantically, splashing water in my face in the process.
I tried to step backwards and out of his way, but I suddenly found myself in the part where it’s too deep to stand up. I panicked and reached out to grab my instructor’s shoulder.
All the while, in the lane bedside me, toddlers dunked their heads underwater and floated happily on their backs. If only I was so brave.
At 30 years old I had finally decided to learn to swim – and that was my first lesson.
Like a third of British adults, I never got around to it as a child. I was more keen on gymnastics. But I had little choice. It was my last-ditch attempt to find an exercise that didn’t leave me doubled over in agony and reaching for the painkillers that I’ve relied on for more than a decade.
Like a third of British adults, I never got around to learning to swim as a child. I was more keen on gymnastics
Aged 18, Lucia Osborne Crowley, pictured was diagnosed with endometriosis and later with Crohn's Disease - both of which left her with crippling pain
I am one of the 28 million Britons who suffer chronic pain caused by a long-term health problem. In my case, there are two problems.
In 2010, aged 18, I was diagnosed with endometriosis, where the lining of the womb, or endometrium, grows into other pelvic tissues. It causes excruciating pain and, sometimes, infertility.
And five years later, following six months of erratic bowel problems and weight loss, doctors also diagnosed me with Crohn’s disease – an inflammatory condition that damages the gut.
My entire adult life has been punctuated by pain, being signed off work sick and dozens of stints in hospital – the most recent of which was in the autumn.
My Crohn’s is relatively well managed with on-and-off steroid treatment, but when the pain hits me during a flare-up I have to take strong opiates, such as codeine and tramadol, to get by.
I’ve long been aware of scientific evidence proving the pain-relieving effect of exercise.
Last year, researchers in the US found that endometriosis patients who exercised at least three times a week reported less discomfort than less physically active patients.
The NHS recommends a variety of exercise classes to people with chronic pain. It’s called social prescribing – a relatively new scheme
