Hell's Kitchen: Amanda Barrie tries to slap Gordon Ramsay in 2004
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Returning to ITV tonight for a festive series of Gordon, Gino & Fred, which sees the trio explore the winter wonderland that is Lapland, it wasn’t long ago that Gordon was advised by medical professionals to “slow down”. Although a keen fitness fanatic, at the age of 55, it seems that the chef sometimes does not realise his own limitations, which has led to him developing a progressive condition that affects the joints.
It was after a fall while running in Richmond Park that Gordon sustained an injury that sparked the beginning of his health diagnosis.
Speaking to Hello about his diagnosis, Gordon said: “I’ve just come off two weeks on crutches as I had meniscus surgery.
“I did it running up that hill in Richmond Park, bolting up it. And when I got the X-rays back, the doctor said, ‘You’ve got arthritis in your knee.’
“I’d never heard that word in relation to me before.”
“He [the doctor] told me I needed to start slowing down. It was a case of, ‘Imagine you’ve got 1.5million steps to run over the next 30 years… pace yourself.’”
Arthritis is a common condition, but can cause severe pain and inflammation of the joints.
Affecting more than 10 million people, but for Gordon the diagnosis was desperately unwanted.
He added: “You just don’t want to hear you’ve got arthritis in your knee.”
What made the diagnosis worse for Gordon was his commitment to fitness. The chef ensures that on top of his busy work schedule, which can be as long as 12 hours, he always does his two-hour workouts.
Gordon uses exercise as a “release”, and immediately thought that his arthritis diagnosis would disrupt his ability to train.
“I am slightly scared of stopping but do know I will have to slow down at some stage,” he continued.
For Gordon however, arthritis is not his only health trouble, after losing his father to a heart attack aged only 53, the star realises he could follow in the same footsteps.
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How do I know I have arthritis?
The two most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, with the former affecting nearly nine million people, especially women and people with a family history of the condition.
The latter affects more than 400,000 people and often starts when a person is between 40 and 50 years of age, targeting the hands, spine, knees and hips.
Due to the many different varieties of arthritis, symptoms may differ from person to person, but most commonly people experience tenderness and stiffness around their joints.
This is due to the thinning of the smooth cartilage in the lining of the joint. When this occurs, tendons and ligaments have to work twice as hard and as a result swelling and “bony spurs” form, known as osteophytes.
Severe loss of cartilage can also lead to bones rubbing together, altering the shape of the joining and forcing bones out of their normal positions.
Other symptoms that individuals may experience include the following:
- Inflammation in and around the joints
- Restricted movement of the joints
- Warm red skin over the affected joint
- Weakness and muscle wasting.
Pain may also feel worse at the end of the day, or when you move your knee or affected joint. Charity Versus Arthritis states that individuals might have some stiffness in the morning, but this won’t usually last more than half an hour.
When moving your knee it may start to “creak” or “crunch” which is common for arthritis sufferers.
Although there is no known cure, Versus Arthritis recommends different types of exercise that you can do for yourself that can make a difference to how the condition affects you: movement exercises, strengthening exercises and aerobic exercise.
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