David's story: leaving construction behind

David Smith, 58, from Dornoch, Scotland, was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in his hands and wrists at 52 which forced him to leave a 40-year career in building to work in adult social services. He believes 40 years in construction was a catalyst for his condition and would like to see more education within the industry so workers could better protect their future health.

Osteoarthritis meant a change of career

I was in my early 50s and working in the building industry as a bricklayer at the time when my hands and wrists started hurting. I didn’t do anything about it for a while but, around six years ago, I went to the doctor who sent me for X-rays which confirmed that I have osteoarthritis. I was lucky that, when I went to my GP, I did get a fairly timely diagnosis.

I think there may be an element of it being genetic as my father has osteoarthritis and my mother has arthritis too although not in her hands but I definitely think work was the main cause of the  damage. I’d been a manual labourer all my working life, spent years picking up heavy things and power tools. I did have a break from it, but when I went back to building the pain and swelling started. The doctor agreed my job was contributing so I can’t do that anymore.

I now work in adult social services, mentoring people with a range of needs to live independently in their own homes and communities, which is very different after 40 years in construction but I really enjoy it. And it’s good for me, pottering around helping with things like light cooking and washing up, which keeps me moving. If I was just sitting around, my hands and wrists would seize up, so this job is good for me physically, but also good for my soul.

Learning to manage arthritis

The pain I suffered, and still suffer, is never overly severe but it is constant and I’ve now got to the point where my hands have started to tingle and nothing seems to stop it. I’ve tried different medications and I now take naproxen every day and amitryptiline at night because that’s when it is at its worst and my hands and wrists are raging. I also wear compression gloves every night and do my physio exercises daily. I’ve also tried magnetic wrist bands and all of these things seem to help. The weather is always quite detrimental to my arthritis so, a lot of this condition seems to be about learning what makes it better, what makes it worse and trying to manage it as best I can.

I do think we need more understanding around arthritis, and more acceptance because those of us that have it can’t do much about it really. I’ve tried reducing my medication but the pain is off the scale for weeks when I do so, for me, it’s been about finding something that, although it's not perfect, it does help. 

More investment in arthritis needed

The building work was always boom and bust so I did do other things at times but it was that last time I went into construction, at around 50, that my hands and wrists got worse over the two years I was there. I do accept that, as you get older, there will be some wear and tear but I would like to see more education around the building industry because young people thrust into that workplace don’t really know or understand what the impact can be physically or how best to protect themselves. I would like to see monitoring of people in similar roles to try and better reduce the risks to their health in the future.

I would also like to see more investment in arthritis at government level because they really don’t seem to see it as a major illness, it’s always about cuts and caps, without really understanding the effect that can have on people’s lives. I see that all the time with the people I support through work.

I know that there’s always research, new drugs or treatments, so maybe one day arthritis can be reversed, but it’s all down to trial and error and experimentation. I’d be happy to be a guinea pig, to help try and find something that works, because it would make so many lives better.