CONCERNS people are suffering in silence from muscle and joint pain during lockdown has led to a helpline being launched by health chiefs.

East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership’s physiotherapy team have launched the MSK (musculoskeletal) phoneline and are urging local residents who are struggling to get in touch.

Louise Dickson, the physiotherapy clinical lead at East Lothian Community Hospital, said they believe people are putting up with pain at home, especially those who are unable to visit their GP practice.

She said: “We know that there are lots of people putting up with muscle and joint pain at the moment because they can’t visit their medical practice because of Covid-19 restrictions. That’s not good for anybody.

“We can deal with a wide range of MSK problems over the phone, like stiff necks, bad backs, sore shoulders and knees.

“We’re saying to people that you don’t have to put up with joint or muscle pain, and, what’s more, you shouldn’t. The sooner we work out what the problem is, the sooner we can begin to make it better.

“It might be that you need something as simple as some special exercises and over-the-counter painkillers or you might need more specialised help – whatever you need, we’ll get you the appropriate treatment and support.”

The East Lothian MSK support line is open 9am-11.30am on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and people can contact it without any referral from a GP or clinical professional.

The team will take callers’ details and arrange an appointment for a telephone review with one of their advanced physiotherapy practitioners.

The practitioner will then call to give a phone assessment and offer advice.

To contact the team, call  01620 642 968 during the line’s opening hours.

Louise said: “Muscle and joint pains haven’t just gone away because we’re in lockdown. Please get in touch with us so that we can help you quickly and safely.”