Painful design for research

It looks like something from the sado-masochist range of certain specialist clothing stores. It feels like that too. But developed by medical researchers at a cost of €30,000, this particular costume has a rather loftier aim than adult entertainment.

The osteoarthritis (OA) simulation suit was created to give people who do not suffer from the debilitating bone condition some idea of what life is like for those who do.

From the moment you put it on, it replicates the immobility caused by OA. And depending on how long you wear it, it replicates some of the discomfort too. After even 20 minutes in the suit, you can look a sufferer in the eye and say, in all sincerity: "I feel your pain."

Designed by a team at Britain's Loughborough University, the simulation exercise differs in one key respect from the real condition: it can progress a lot more rapidly.

When Gwen, the woman demonstrating the suit, decided that I was still a bit too mobile after the five minutes, she adjusted certain straps accordingly. Suddenly my knee, hip and elbow joints were all stiffer. Climbing the stairs, trying to pick something off the floor, or even sitting down and standing up again, became athletic challenges.

In the meantime, my raised left shoe was hinting at what it feels like when one of your legs is shorter than the other, while the simulated bunion in the right shoe cut off circulation to my toes. As if I didn't have enough to think about, Gwen shook my gloved hand warmly at this point: thereby allowing me to appreciate the friction pads and nodules attached - for added discomfort - to the finger joints.

About 400,000 Irish people suffer from OA to some degree. In middle age, it affects both sexes equally, thereafter becoming much more prevalent in women. By the age of 70, most people have symptoms. But the seriousness of the condition is not always appreciated, even by those treating it. Hence the Loughborough project consulted sufferers about their symptoms and designed a garment to reproduce them.

Arthritis Ireland is touring the suit here to raise awareness of the condition. Healthcare professionals and journalists are among those targeted for fittings and, with an election going on, a politician or two might be persuaded as well.

The experience is not exactly fun but its message is clear. As Gwen explained: "You only have to wear it for a few a minutes. OA sufferers live with this all the time."