Dawn French shares painful health condition with candid photo
Dawn French took to Instagram on Wednesday to update fans on her painful health condition, giving her followers an insight into how she manages the woe.
Posting a photo of her feet and knees, with an exercise ball gripped between her legs, Dawn wrote: "Glamorous start to the day when you have a crumbly knee," before explaining that she has osteoarthritis.
Dawn has spoken about her painful knees before, with the NHS explaining that osteoarthritis is a condition that causes joints to become painful and stiff, with the ailment being the most common type of arthritis in the UK.
The knees, hips and small joints of the hands are areas most commonly affected by the condition, so Dawn isn't alone in her pain.
Osteoarthritis can be caused by age, overuse of joints and obesity, with treatments including regular exercise and physiotherapy.
MORE HEALTH: Judi Dench reveals thoughts on retirement as she shares difficult health update affecting her career
The 65-year-old is certainly following the right path to manage her osteoarthritis and has spoken in the past about how movement and diet helped her shed 7.5 stone, bringing her weight down from 19 stone to 11.5 stone.
Dawn explained that she needed to lose weight before having a hysterectomy following a cancer scare, revealing that her doctor had been convinced she had uterine cancer prompting her to opt to have the operation to remove her womb.
More Dawn
Dawn French becomes a fashion influencer in unexpected tea towel dress Dawn French becomes a fashion influencer in unexpected tea towel dress
Dawn French shares rare photo of husband Mark at £2m Cornwall home Dawn French shares rare photo of husband Mark at £2m Cornwall home
Dawn French shares incredibly rare photo of daughter Billie Dawn French shares incredibly rare photo of daughter Billie
"When I was due to have my hysterectomy the doc told me that if I could lose some weight before the op, they would be able to do it via keyhole, and I would recover in three weeks or so," she said. "Otherwise it would be big open surgery, and three months to recover. So, I set about dropping a few stone.
"No magic wand," she added. "Just tiny, joyless low-cal eating and lots more walking for weeks and weeks. It was grim. I lost seven-and-a-half stone. I could have the keyhole surgery. Great. That’s all it was, practical."
Dawn French health
Other than her osteoarthritis, Dawn is in generally good health, though she had spoken of suffering from throat nodules.
Throat nodules are growths that form on the vocal cords, caused by straining or overusing your voice, especially from talking loudly or for a long period of time – as Dawn does on stage during tour.
Dawn uses a nifty device to ease her pain – we're impressed by how proactive she is when it comes to managing her conditions!
