AT 45-year-old, Linda Williams’s world began to shrink… as she became weaker, piled on weight and stopped exercising.
Feeling beyond her prime before barely reaching middle-age, she struggled to squeeze a bottle of shampoo or hold a pen due to an agonising, all-consuming pain.
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Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. It affects 8.5 million Brits, and typically strikes over the age of 50.
Gradually, osteoarthritis causes joints – particularly hands, knees, hips, feet and spine – to become stiff and painful, limiting movement.
For HR consultant Linda Williams, now 57, from Wales, the onset of osteoarthritis in her hands kicked in when she was just 45-years-old.
She tells Sun Health: “Over time, the pain became so severe, I couldn’t even squeeze shampoo out of the bottle.
“My life was horrendous.”
Linda, who has one step-daughter with husband Paul Williams, 57, had an active life before arthritis struck. She did four boxing classes and five 10km runs each week.
But this was also put on hold when her osteoarthritis came along, which, along with the menopause, left Linda struggling with four stone weight gain.
After years of trial and error however, Linda discovered a joint health supplement that quite literally transformed her life, and it cost just 91p-a-day.
She says: “In 2015, I started experiencing a numb pain in my thumbs.
“When I used my thumbs to do something, like pick up a mayonnaise bottle, it would be a shooting pain.
“The pain gradually got worse and worse and spread to my fingers and hands.
“I had so much wear and tear in my hands from working in a bank for a long time. Back in those days you were lifting heavy bags of coins all day.”
In 2016, Linda went to visit her doctor. Because of her young age, doctors didn’t initially suspect osteoarthritis.
She says: “Doctors could not work out what was wrong.
“They were doing different x-rays and scans; they thought it was a carpal tunnel at one point.
“I was given loads of different drugs while they tried to sort out what it was.
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“They had me on really high painkillers including co-dydramol for a long time, which is an awful tablet to take.
“I was also taking massive amounts of ibuprofen.
“My husband had to decant the shampoo out of bottles for me into containers, as I couldn’t squeeze the bottle.
“I couldn’t hold a pen or ride a bike either, as I couldn’t grip the handlebars. I’d lost the feeling in my thumbs.
“I was in pain constantly; I was depressed and I wasn’t sleeping.
“When doctors eventually worked out that I had osteoarthritis a year later, they told me an operation would help the pain.”
Osteoarthritis is a long-term condition and cannot be cured. But it does not mean there aren’t ways people can manage it.
Severe symptoms may need painkillers or physiotherapy, but in a small number of cases, surgery is used to remove or replace a damaged joint.
In 2018, Linda underwent trapeziectomy surgery on both thumbs, one after the other.
She says: “It’s quite a severe operation, and they normally do it to people in their seventies.
“You’ve got three bones in your thumb, and the operation involves taking out the middle bone.
“I had my entire hands and the lower part of my arms in plaster; one side for 12 weeks, the other for 14 weeks.
“Every week, my husband drove me to the hospital to have the plaster taken off and a new one put on.
“I had to keep my arm in a sling, day and night, which made sleeping hard.
“I couldn’t work or exercise. I was really super fit before, so it was depressing that all I could do was walk.”
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When the plaster casts were off, it took another six months for Linda to regain the strength in her hands and she was still taking high amounts of ibuprofen.
In the years that followed, Linda regained mobility in her hands and arms, but she was still in excruciating pain.
She says: “In 2020, the menopause kicked in too, which only added to the pain.
“I had horrific brain fog and couldn’t remember people’s names. My joints ached more, too.
“By this point, I’d also put on 4st and weighed 12 stone because of menopause and not being as active.
“I was really fed up and miserable, because I was still not back into the swing of things.”
Linda managed to lose 2st before starting weightlifting with personal trainer Lucy Edwards, in 2024.
While it helped improve her hands, and she lost the weight she had gained, the pain did not go away.
By 2025, the pain was becoming unbearable.
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What treatments are there for osteoarthritis?
Managing osteroarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is a mixture of lifestyle habits, supportive therapies and medication. Some of these include:
Stay exercising: Being active can help you stay mobile, relieve pain, lose weight and reduce your risk of other health problems. Activities such as walking, biking, swimming, yoga and water aerobics are all helpful for your OA symptoms and overall health.
Lose weight: If you are overweight or obese, losing weight is one of the kindest things you can do for your joints.
Hot and cold: Heat, in the form of a heating pad, warm bath or paraffin wax bath (for hands or feet), can improve blood flow and ease joint stiffness. Using cold packs (such as bag of frozen vegetables placed on the painful joint,) reduces pain and swelling.
Braces, splints and orthotic devices: Devices such as braces and splints may be helpful for relieving joint pain by shifting weight away from the damaged area of the joint, reducing pressure on the joint and relieving swelling by compression.
Painkillers: If you have pain caused by osteoarthritis, your GP might suggest you consider taking paracetamol for short-term pain relief. They may also prescribe a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).
Capsaicin cream: You may be prescribed capsaicin cream if NSAIDs have offered little benefit. The cream works by blocking nerves that send pain messages in the treated area. It usually kicks in after about two weeks of daily use.
Steroid injections: These work quickly and can ease pain for several weeks or months. They are offered to some people when other treatments have failed.
Surgery: Only for a small number of cases, surgery for osteoarthritis includes joint replacement, joint fusing or adding/removing bain in the affected area, such as the knee (osteotomy).
Source: NHS and Arthritis Foundation
“My doctor gave me splints and told me I can’t take any more medications as the ones I was on were already too strong,” she says.
In December 2025, things took a huge turn after Linda came across GOPO Joint Health capsules.
They contain the active ingredient GOPO (glycoside of mono and diglycerol), rosehip and vitamin C.
GOPO has been shown in various studies to help relieve joint pain and improve mobility.
For example, a 94-person study in the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology found that taking rose hip powder (containing GOPO) could improve significantly in just three weeks, compared with taking a placebo.
Linda says: “In the first month, you take three tablets, two times a day, then you drop down to two, twice a day.
“After a month of taking GOPO Joint Health capsules, I stopped taking my painkillers.
“There was such a difference. I felt so much better.
“Sometimes by the end of the week, because I type a lot, I do ache. But I’m not crying by the end of the week anymore.
“GOPO has given me my life back. It’s also changed my level at the gym so I can lift heavier, I can train five times a week, I can grip more.
“I shoulder press 30kg, and leg press 130kg, despite arthritis in both my knees.
“My husband says I’m a different person; I’ve got more confidence, I’m more outgoing. I’ve even done a photo shoot in my bikini.
“The things people take for granted, I can do again. I can use shampoo from the bottle and ride a bike.”
As for what the future holds, Linda is realistic in knowing that her osteoarthritis will get worse.
“But the pain isn’t there anymore,” she says.
“My consultant has said he won’t know what to do in 10 years, if the pain comes back, but he’s told me to keep doing what I’m doing.”
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The GP verdict
Dr Vijay Nayar, GP and Medical Director at Healthium Clinics, says of GOPO Joint Health capsules: “While no nutritional supplement can reverse osteoarthritis or replace evidence-based medical care, some ingredients have potential to provide modest symptomatic relief when used alongside exercise, weight management and other recommended treatments.
“GOPO Joint Health contains a patented rose-hip (Rosa canina) powder, which contains several naturally occurring bioactive compounds, including the galactolipid GOPO, polyphenols and antioxidants.
“These compounds have been investigated for their potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
“Chronic low-grade inflammation is recognised as one of the factors contributing to joint discomfort, particularly in people living with osteoarthritis.
“Laboratory and clinical research suggests these ingredients may help regulate inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways associated with joint discomfort, particularly in osteoarthritis. “This provides a biologically plausible explanation for why some people report improvements in joint pain when taking this supplement.
“But, current evidence does not support claims that it can prevent or treat osteoporosis.
“Supplements should always complement, not replace healthy lifestyle measures, including regular physical activity, strength training and maintaining a healthy weight.
“Anyone experiencing persistent joint pain, swelling or reduced mobility should seek assessment from a healthcare professional to ensure an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.”