'I wanted to hide!' Joanne Clifton shares how knee condition stopped her getting jobs

express.co.uk:

Strictly Come Dancing star has candidly admitted she wanted to “hide” the fact she had the condition.Joanne appeared in the hit BBC One show between 2014 and 2016.Her brother, Kevin Clifton, is also a dancer and was one of the professionals who regularly competed for the coveted Glitterball Trophy.Speaking in an interview last month with the Yorkshire Times, Joanne recounted the moment she found out she had osteoarthritis in her knees.She also called for anyone who suspects they might have the same conditions to get in touch with a health professional.About her diagnosis, Joanne said: “At first I wanted to hide I had osteoarthritis in both knees as I did not want it to hinder me getting jobs, but I have tried not to let it hold me back.”She went on to explain that she now works with a company called Arthr which “make products for people who have the condition”.Joanne highlighted that the diagnosis “can happen though to anyone at any age.”She added: “In lockdown, I was contacted by the parent of a nine-year-old who had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, so I would say to anyone who feels they might suffer with this to go along to their doctor to be checked out.”Joanne went on: “The first time I became aware of it is when I was on Strictly and my knees swelled up.“I was diagnosed and thought my career was over, though I decided that it was not going to stop me as I like a challenge.“I have experienced pain before on stage – I was appearing in the musical Flashdance in Glasgow, it was only the second show in and I popped a calf muscle.“I have never experienced pain like that before and had to have a lot of physiotherapy afterwards.”Joanne first found out she had osteoarthritis thanks to an MRI scan in 2015.The condition.