Staying active keeps my joint pains at bay
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Even the least confident cook will be able to handle the simple-to-follow steps for these speedy suppers. One, two and four-person boxes, and delivered free nationwide (mindfulchef.com). FOR as long as she can remember, actor Sherrie Hewson has been plagued by aches and pains.
Over the years they have affected her knees, hips, shoulders and wrists.
But Sherrie, 68, whose career spans half a century, has refused to let them stop her living a busy and active life.
Instead, she has soldiered on with her TV and theatre commitments, and has tried to exercise it away, shrugging it off as part of the ageing process.
Looking back, Sherrie – who played Maureen Webster in Coronation Street, was a former Loose Women panellist for 14 years and is the bossy Joyce Temple-savage in TV and theatre comedy Benidorm – believes her early days as a performer are to blame.
“I did ballet and tap from the age of four,” says Sherrie. “I was one of those child prodigies. Dance was all I knew and my life was all sequins and tulle.
“I was a ballet dancer until I was 18. If you talk to any ballet dancer, they all have problems with their knees, their hips, their ankles.
“When I was a young child, my father would sit me in front of an electric fire and put boiling hot flannels on my shins to ease the pains in my leg. We used to call them growing pains.”
When aged 18, she joined RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and gave up dance to concentrate on classical drama. “Even then, I had problems with my left knee,” she recalls. “Every now and then it will just go. I feel it happening. But fortunately I have another knee so I don’t fall over!”
Luckily, her ballet training has given Sherrie good posture, as did her regular horse riding, which she’s now given up for fear of falling off. But she admits it’s when she doesn’t take care of herself and when she lets her posture slip that her joint niggles flare up.
Referring to her character in Benidorm, which is touring the UK’S theatres, she jokes: “As Joyce Templesavage I wear six-inch heels and that doesn’t bother me. My mother was a model and wore high heels until the day she died at 89. She always told me that wearing flat boots would do my back in!
“I have a very active life. If I didn’t work, my aches and pains would be worse because I would be lazy. I think laziness is the biggest killer of all time.
“I love driving and I do hundreds of miles in my car on motorways. But after a while I realise I’ve been sitting the wrong way and I get an ache in my With Reg in Corrie shoulders and arms. Even if I get trains, carrying suitcases on and off affects me. Heavy handbags give me spasms in my left shoulder.
“I’m a very logical thinker. When I get a pain, I ask myself ‘Why is it here today?’ I try and work it out. Often it’s to do with posture. I might have been slouching in a chair or I might need to exercise.
“You have to listen to your body. Don’t give in to these niggles but work out what your body needs. I am lucky. My aches and pains aren’t debilitating, not like the pain people with arthritis suffer.”
Sherrie, who lives near Chorley, Lancs, has always been a walker and often did
15-mile hikes with her old dog, a Weimaraner called Caius, who lived until he was 11. Her new pet, a grey chihuahua called Teddy, isn’t as keen. “He’s only seven months old, but he won’t walk. He prefers to be carried,” she laughs.
When she’s staying in a hotel with a pool, Sherrie likes to swim and finds breaststroke eases her shoulder ache. She also unwinds on spa days at Ribby Hall Village near Preston with her 34-year-old daughter Keeley, mum to Oliver, 12, and Molly, eight.
But Sherrie eschews the treatments in favour of the sauna and steam rooms. “If my aches get really bad, I’ve taken a paracetamol,” she says. “I’ve also found heat helps. I love a hot bath. A session in the sauna and steam rooms eases my aches and calms me down when I’m stressed.”
When she was in Sardinia filming 100 Years Younger in 21 Days for ITV last year, Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow in Coronation Street, and Mirror astrologer Russell Grant tried to introduce her to meditation and mindfulness.
“When I’m doing things like that, it brings up things from the past that I don’t want to remember,” confides Sherrie. “It backfires and makes me more stressed. I have to find another way to make me happy and that comes from my daughter Keeley and her children. They are the reason why I wake up every morning. They bring me such joy. I love going for bike rides and walks, and to the park with them.”
Although she was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid 14 years ago and As Joyce Templeton-savage now takes thyroxine daily, and she suffered hair loss when going through a stressful divorce from husband Ken Boyd, Sherrie is reluctant to take medication unless it’s totally necessary. “I don’t like to put chemicals into my body,” she says. “When I can, I choose the natural solution.”
Having researched her aches and pains, she learned New Zealand green-lipped mussels contain an oil that helps ageing joints, but she didn’t know how to source it – until now. “A few months ago, I came across Regenovex Actiflex capsules and discovered they contain this oil,” reveals Sherrie. “I’ve always been careful about taking supplements as some vitamins can work against each other.” Regenovex contains hyaluronic acid, which helps ligaments, tendons and cartilage, vitamin C for collagen and vitamin D for muscle function. A gel is also available.
“After a few months I realised I was much less moany and groany!” she confesses. “Life is so much easier and more fun when you’re not in pain.” ■■Regenovex Actiflex capsules and gel are available from Boots. With the Loose Women
You have to listen to your body. Work out what your body needs. But I’m lucky my pains aren’t debilitating