Arthritis UK Winter Appeal

Please donate to help unlock our understanding of fatigue

If you’re reading this, you may already be familiar with the deep fatigue arthritis can bring, and know the toll it can take on your life, or the lives of those you love. Especially at this time of year, when everything from colder weather to the extra demands of the season can cause symptoms to flare up and stop us getting out to see family and friends. 

Because fatigue isn’t just feeling tired. It’s a crushing exhaustion – physical, mental, and emotional – that doesn’t get better with sleep or rest. And for many people, like Christie, it’s the most distressing and overwhelming part of living with arthritis, affecting as many as 80% of people with inflammatory arthritis. 

Thanks to your generosity, we’ve made great progress in finding effective treatments that ease pain and improve mobility. But for fatigue, no such treatments exist – yet. 

As the Director of Research at Arthritis UK, and as a researcher myself, I know that research is the key to unlocking our understanding of fatigue, so we can stop it closing the door to life for so many people. But we need your help. 

How your gift can deepen our understanding of fatigue

A gift from you today could help transform our understanding of fatigue. Fatigue can take away your ability to focus, work, study, exercise, and just enjoy life. In fact, 1 in 7 people with musculoskeletal conditions like arthritis say fatigue stops them from carrying out everyday activities. 

And yet, despite being so common and so devastating, fatigue has been overlooked and under-researched for far too long.

No one should have to live their life in exhaustion. Which is why we’ve partnered with The Kennedy Trust – the same collaboration that resulted in the discovery of groundbreaking anti-TNF therapy that changed the lives of millions of people worldwide living with arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Together, we can identify the gaps in our understanding and unlock the secrets of fatigue. 

The groundbreaking METRICS study

Funded by this collaboration, Dr Emma Dures, Professor in Rheumatology and Psychology at the University of the West of England, led a groundbreaking METRICS study alongside a team of experts and people with lived experience of arthritis. The study mapped out what we know about fatigue, what helps, and what’s missing, and laid the groundwork for the next steps. 

The results of Dr Dures’ study were clear. Fatigue is multidimensional and complex and there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. People need tailored support, including physical activity and psychological help. Health professionals should ask about fatigue regularly in consultations. And when fatigue worsens, it should be taken seriously as a sign that treatment may need to change. 

But most importantly, the METRICS study showed us how much more work there is to do. We still don’t fully understand what causes fatigue, why it persists even when other symptoms are under control, or how to deliver the best support to children, young people and adults alike. 

Funding future breakthroughs

We’re proud to have funded this study and excited by the results – we now have a roadmap for future research. We need to understand what works for different people; to develop new, tailored interventions; to explore fatigue in children and young people where support is especially lacking; and to continue uncovering the biology of fatigue, so we can find new ways to treat it. So fewer people have to face each day in exhaustion, and can get back to enjoying life. But we urgently need your donations to keep moving forward. 

Will you donate today to help fund life-changing research?

Only with your help can we understand and combat fatigue and the other devastating symptoms of arthritis, so that everyone can live with greater freedom and hope. So please, give what you can today.