Free From Pain – Therapeutic Neuroscience Education and Exercise programme
Have you got hip or knee arthritis? Do you want to avoid surgery?
Then our Free From Pain – Therapeutic Neuroscience Education and Exercise programme may be perfect for you!
To understand what might be causing your pain and weakness, here’s some important information about how the body changes with age.
What is Frailty?
Frailty is a health problem that can happen as we get older.
The body slowly loses strength and balance.
It also becomes harder for the body to bounce back after being ill or injured.
Even small things, like a simple infection or a new medicine, can make a person feel weaker or lose some independence.
Frailty is common, but it does not have to happen to everyone.
With the right exercise and support, you can help prevent it, slow it down, or even reverse it.
Why do I become frail?
As we get older, our muscles can become smaller and weaker.
This slow change is called sarcopenia. It often starts around age 50.
It happens to everyone, but it happens faster if we do not move much.
When muscles get weak, everyday tasks feel harder.
This makes a person more likely to become frail.
Sarcopenia becomes more common with age:
- About 1 in 10 people aged 50–59 have it
- About 1 in 3 people aged 80+ have it
There is no medicine for it, but strength and balance exercises can slow it down and help you stay active and independent.
What happens if I am frail?
When you are frail, your body becomes weaker.
You may take longer to get better after being ill or injured.
When your muscles lose strength, it becomes harder to keep your balance.
Even a small slip can make you more likely to fall.
About 1 in 3 adults over 65 have a fall each year, and this rises to 1 in 2 adults over 80.
Falls can affect your confidence and make daily life harder.
What happens to your muscles in Sarcopenia?
A simple way to understand muscle loss is to think about how a building is made.
Muscle acts like the cement, and fat acts like the sand.
A strong structure needs the right mix of both.
You can be large and still have good muscle, and that is okay. But you can also be thin and have less muscle than fat, and that can make you weak
When there is too much fat and not enough muscle, the body becomes less steady.
This makes it harder to move, stay balanced, and avoid falls.
Can Frailty Improve?
Yes, frailty can get better.
Simple strength and balance exercises can help build muscle again.
Even small changes, like doing a few exercises each day, can make a big difference in how strong and steady you feel.
How can I check my strength?
There is a simple way to check leg strength and to determine if your frail. It is
called the 30-Second Sit-to-Stand Test (30s STS).
🪑How to do it:
- Sit on a stable chair, feet flat, arms crossed across your chest.
- Stand up and sit down as many times as you can in 30 seconds, without using the armrests for support.
- Count your total number of repetitions.
💡What it means:
- Fewer than 12 repetitions may suggest lower leg strength or early frailty.
- More repetitions show better strength and independence.
You can safely do this test on your own, but if you have balance issues or dizziness, have someone nearby for support.
Regular strength and balance exercises can help improve your score — and your confidence.
What to do next?
If you feel weak, unsteady, or limited by pain, you’re not alone — and you can get stronger.
Our Free From Pain Programme is designed to help older adults build strength, improve balance, and move with confidence again.
To learn more, visit the “Join Our FFP Programme” page.