Joint cure: Mum and daughter both have arthritis ops

Retired nursery nurse Janet Kershaw, 58, had spent years in pain which left her barely able to get up and down stairs.

Her daughter Laura Turner, 29, a nurse, had been in agony since she was a teenager before being diagnosed with early-stage arthritis in her left hip.

But thanks to a knee cap replacement for Janet and keyhole surgery for Laura, the pair have a new lease of life - taking up sports and doing charity runs.

Ms Kershaw said: “I spent my entire career working with very small children, which involved a lot of bending, sitting on low chairs, kneeling and crouching.

“My knees started to creak when I was in my 30s, and I saw a consultant who said they were starting to wear out. He told me I had the knees of a sprinter and would have trouble in years to come.

“About nine years ago I had an arthroscopy on my right knee, which involved shaving and smoothing the worn-out knee bone.

“It was fine for a while, but then four years ago I slipped at work and a scan showed my left knee had had it, so I had an arthroscopy on that too.

“But, a year later, I could only get upstairs by crawling because the pain was so great again.”

Mrs Kershaw, from Todmorden, near Halifax, had her knee caps and now stairs are no longer a problem for Janet - as she has even managed to go climbing in the Rockies.

She also takes part in a weekly keep-fit class and has even done a 10km charity walk.

Laura, who lives in Bacup, Lancashire, was born with hip dysplasia - a congenital condition where the hip joint is not aligned as the ball fits into the socket at an angle.

She also suffered from damaged hip cartilage.

She endured years of agony before she was diagnosed with early-stage arthritis in her left hip.

But since her keyhole surgery, she’s taken up jogging and riding an exercise bike.

Laura said: “Even getting in and out of the car or simply sitting in certain positions was painful.

“Its made an amazing difference to my life.”