Start here
Follow your own flare plan and adapt activity to your symptoms and clinical advice. Do not force a saved stretch or use its timer as a target you must finish. Check which joints move and which bear weight. If activity causes warm, swollen joints or severe pain, stop and rest. Ask your rheumatology team or physiotherapist about uncertain movements; new hot swelling or feeling unwell needs urgent advice.
When to get medical help
Get urgent medical advice
Seek urgent medical advice for joint pain with hot, swollen skin around the joint, or joint pain with feeling unwell, fever or shivering. Do not assume these changes are your usual flare. In the UK, contact an urgent GP service or NHS 111; elsewhere use the local equivalent.
Sources: NHS: joint pain and when to get help
Get emergency help
Get emergency help for very severe joint pain after a fall or injury, inability to walk or bear weight, a joint out of place, or tingling or loss of feeling around the joint after injury. In the UK, go to A&E or call 999; elsewhere use local emergency services.
Sources: NHS: joint pain and when to get help
Use your local emergency service when emergency care is needed. These examples are not a complete symptom checklist.
1. Start with today's changes
Note which joints are affected, when the change began and what ordinary tasks are harder. Put your personal flare plan and contact details beside the routine. Inflammatory arthritis advice balances movement with rest and adaptation; it is not a choice between finishing your usual workout and stopping every activity. Follow individual guidance rather than diagnosing a flare from an app.
Sources: Arthritis UK: managing inflammatory arthritis flares
2. Inspect the supporting joints
For each movement, record five things: starting position, joint moving, joints bearing weight, support used and question to resolve. A stretch labelled for the back may still place weight through the wrists or knees. Include getting onto the floor and standing again. The target body-area label does not describe every demand of the exercise.
3. Separate movement from a deeper stretch
Arthritis UK describes adapting intensity or duration, taking breaks and returning gradually as symptoms improve. That is not an instruction to push farther into a held position. Ask what movement, range and support fit your current symptoms. Changing thirty seconds to ten does not by itself solve an unsuitable position or load.
Sources: Arthritis UK: managing inflammatory arthritis flares
4. Use three fictional entries to prepare questions
Example review sheet: a floor movement supported on the hands; a kneeling position; and a seated reach. For each, ask whether the supporting joint, pressure and transition fit your current plan, and whether an alternative is needed. These are examples to inspect, not a sequence to try or an approved arthritis programme. Do not test a painful position to complete the sheet.
5. Know when the plan needs help
NHS rheumatoid arthritis advice says to stop and rest if an activity causes joints to become warm and swollen or causes severe pain. Contact your team about worsening symptoms or difficulty managing, rather than repeatedly adjusting the timer. New symptoms may have another cause. Use the urgent-care guidance below; recording a perfect diary must never delay help.
Sources: NHS: living with rheumatoid arthritis · NHS: joint pain and when to get help
6. Keep the app and the care plan separate
Unknot on iPhone provides movement previews, numbered instructions and pause controls to help you inspect a sequence. It cannot assess inflammation or prescribe a flare programme. After a clinical discussion, keep the agreed movement, support, limits and review point with your original instructions. A completed session records app use, not clinical clearance.
Sources: Unknot: official iPhone listing
Bring the demands of the movement to the discussion
Show the actual instructions and your unanswered loading or support questions. Keep changes specific to the advice you receive. You do not need to demonstrate maximum range to ask for help.
Questions before you start
Should I stop every activity during a flare?
Not automatically. Balance rest and appropriate movement according to your symptoms and care plan. Ask your team about adapting activity; this guide does not prescribe an amount or replace individual advice.
Sources: Arthritis UK: managing inflammatory arthritis flares
Does a beginner label mean a routine is suitable today?
No. It does not assess inflammation, painful supporting joints or your personal limits. Review the complete instructions rather than relying on the label.
An app for your everyday movement habit.
Unknot is available on the App Store for iPhone.
