ACTOR Adam Thomas has paid a touching tribute to wife Caroline, hailing her the “best mother, the best wife, nurse and best friend” amid his crippling health battle.
The brave Waterloo Road star opened up on the latest “severe pain” prompted by his longstanding arthritis diagnosis in a candid video this week.
Adam, 37, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis – a condition that effects the joints – in 2023 just before he took part in Strictly Come Dancing.
In the clip, he told how he had a recent “big wake up call” and got “complacent” with his medication over the Christmas period and felt severe pain creeping back in.
Now he has shared two images showing the professional dancer injecting his thigh with medication.
One image, taken in side-profile, showed her in a blue striped tracksuit administering the treatment.
Another captured Adam, who shot to fame on Emmerdale in 2009, in a green jacket and matching top, with shorts exposing his bare legs.
He gazed down at his legs as the injection was inserted.
Yet in the Instagram image’s lengthy caption, Adam paid tribute to his other half, who he married in 2017.
Her wrote: “Shoutout to my wife Caroline, genuinely the best mother, the best wife, NURSE and somehow still my best friend after 18 years together!
“This past month she’s been everything…always supporting me, always there, holding it down in ways big and small.
“From meal preps to keeping me on top of my medication (yes I still can’t inject myself) deep chats sitting in the bath together trying to solve life like we actually know what we’re doing.
“We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve argued (obviously), but I wouldn’t change a single bit of it.
“I adore that after all these years, you’re still the person I want to talk to first, laugh with the most, and be completely myself around.
“I told you this morning and I’ll say it again, I love growing with you!”
He finished his cute tribute with the words: “And massive congratulations on winning Family Member of the Month, well deserved. Haha.
What is causing your joint pain?
How to spot the symptoms of the leading causes of joint pain...
OSTEOARTHRITIS
Look out for: Muscle weakness, pain, stiffness, usually in knees, hands or hips.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint condition characterised by the breakdown of cartilage.
This is the most common type of joint pain, affecting six million women and four million men in the UK.
Risk factors include ageing, obesity, joint injuries, genetics, and repetitive stress on joints.
Symptoms typically worsen over time, and severe cases may significantly impact daily activities.
Treatment focuses on pain management, physical therapy, lifestyle changes, medications, and in advanced cases, joint replacement surgery.
BURSITIS
Look out for: Heat and redness, tenderness and swelling, usually in the shoulder, elbow, hip or knee.
Bursitis is the inflammation of a bursa, a small fluid-filled sac that cushions and reduces friction between bones, tendons, and muscles near joints.
It commonly occurs in the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and heels.
Repetitive movements, prolonged pressure, injury, or underlying conditions like arthritis or gout are common causes.
If you have bursitis, rest, ice application, pain relief medications and avoiding aggravating activities are necessary.
Severe or persistent cases may require corticosteroid injections or surgery.
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Look out for: Usually slow-onset swelling, pain, redness and stiffness, typically in small hand and feet joints.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune condition.
It happens when the immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of joints, causing inflammation, pain, and swelling.
Over time, it can lead to joint deformity, loss of function, and damage to surrounding tissues, including cartilage and bone.
Commonly affected areas include the hands, wrists, and feet, though it can also impact other organs.
Treatment focuses on reducing inflammation, flare-ups, and slowing progression.
SPRAIN OR STRAIN
Look out for: Pain when resting or moving, swelling and weakness around injury.
It’s possible you don’t have a health condition and rather, it’s a sprain or injury to a ligament.
Causes include overstretching or tearing due to sudden twists or impacts. This may be more common in the ankles, wrists, and knees.
A strain, on the other hand, involves injury to a muscle or tendon, often resulting from overstretching or overuse. It commonly occurs in the lower back, hamstrings, or shoulders.
Both injuries are treated with rest, ice, compression, elevation (RICE) and sometimes physio.
“Keep up the good work. I love you @carolinethomas23”.
ADAM’S BATTLE
Earlier in the week, Adam shared another photo of him using injections on social media.
He then warned: “Stop thinking you’re invincible, because you’re not.”
He then went on to get candid with his followers, writing: “Over the past few days, I’ve felt it creeping back in, the pain in my wrists, my fingers, then the psoriasis came back too!”
Adam confessed: “Over Christmas, I got complacent, I missed my injections, I thought it will be fine! But how wrong was I.
“A few days ago I had a big wake up call literally!
“I woke up in the middle of the night with severe pain in my wrists,
in that moment, I went straight back to that scared little boy I used to be, living with pain and fear.
“Don’t get me wrong, the pain has eased a bit since, maybe I slept on it funny, I’m not sure, but I know I’m not pain free anymore! Somethings changed…”
Adam continued to say that the medication he takes means his body can get used to them and miss them, adding that they can also “stop working altogether”.
“I’m hoping it’s just because I missed them and need to get back on track,” he said.
Adam previously revealed he is trying out a new “carnivore diet” and says it has helped.
