How donating data can transform our understanding of knee replacement surgery
by The University of Manchester
University of Manchester researchers are to trial the groundbreaking linkage of historical step counts from patients’ smart devices to their healthcare data in a bid to transform our understanding of how knee replacement surgery affects them.
Knee osteoarthritis - the most common reason for replacement surgery - affects around one in five people over 50 in the UK, with over 120,000 people having a knee replacement each year.
“Osteoarthritis causes pain and limits normal daily activities, like walking or climbing stairs. Knee replacement surgery is one of the only definitive treatments. But how much better does physical activity, like walking, get after a knee replacement?” said Professor Will Dixon who is leading the research.
“To make informed decisions about whether to have surgery or not, we need to know this - yet the current evidence is patchy.”
The Manchester research team are asking for the help of people who have already had a knee replacement to develop and test this way of conducting health research.
They want to make use of data that has already been collected, inside and outside of the health service, and piece it together.
Prof Dixon added: “All of the data needed to understand how activity improves after knee replacement surgery already exists.
“Millions of people in the UK routinely track their step count using their smartphone or fitness tracker. In fact, over 95% of adults now own a smartphone.
“By joining together step counts from people’s smartphones and wearables with information about their surgery, we can understand how much physical activity improves after knee replacement.”
The PAPrKA study (which stands for Physical Activity Patterns after Knee Arthroplasty) wants to recruit UK adults who had a knee replacement surgery between January 2017 and December 2023, and who used an iPhone, Apple Watch, Fitbit or Oura ring before and after their surgery.
Interested people can visit the study website at: bit.ly/knee3 to donate their activity data, which will be securely transferred from the University to the National Joint Registry where it will be linked with data about their operation.
This will allow the researchers to examine how activity patterns change following surgery, including how this differs by levels of activity before surgery, types of operation, patient age and more.
Matt’s story
In November 2022, former Iron Man Triathlete Matt Barker had a partial knee replacement following years of increasing pain and reduced mobility. Before surgery, even standing became painful and his job as a teacher was getting progressively harder.
“Colleagues would worry about me and ask if I was alright” Matt recalls. “This was especially difficult as I still saw myself as fit and active, but the reality became impossible to ignore.”
Since having surgery, his physical activity improved dramatically - no longer experiencing the previous swelling and pain. He was able to resume much of the daily activity he was doing before his knee issues developed.
Matt concludes: “Most of us base our activity on what we have to do and what we feel able to do. The availability of data from our devices can really bring home the extent to which your mobility is changing. Post operation, they have been a great motivator to view improvement, as well as alerting me to my limits. My hope is that PAPrKA can give people like me a clearer understanding before surgery of how much better their activity is likely to get.”
The PAPrKA study is part of the Health Research from Home programme funded by the Medical Research Council [grant number MR/Y003624/1]
The state-of-the-art gritters taking on the ice and snow in Trafford
New state-of-the-art gritters are busy taking on the ice and snow to keep Trafford’s roads safe during this freezing period.
The five gritters are technologically advanced, fitted with route mapping and sat nav and have onboard CCTV cameras to monitor grit levels in real time.
Priority is being given to maintaining safe driving conditions on frequently used routes, main roads and bus routes, which accounts for nearly 170 miles of Trafford's roads.
The One Trafford Partnership (OTP), a collaboration between Trafford Council and Amey, have been closely preparing for the cold snap since October.
The OTP are continuing to monitor future weather forecasts to grit the highway network when required. Grit stock levels are also being continually monitored and replenished, including the borough’s 93 grit bins which have been refilled twice over recent weeks.
Cllr Stephen Adshead, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Highways, Environmental and Traded Services, said: “Preparing for winter is always a huge job for our gritting teams and I am delighted we are always well organised for the big freeze.
“Obviously, our priority first and foremost is to make sure the highway network is safe for drivers and pedestrians in the borough – and we urge you all to take care when out and about. These new gritters will provide a number of benefits for the teams including improved reliability, reduced maintenance issues and several technology improvements to offer more precise salt and grit spreading.”
Also:
Find out how to safely clear snow and ice yourself.
Advice and information on road safety and accident prevention is available from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
Motorways are maintained by National Highways. View their severe weather plans.
In times of severe weather, check weather forecasts and updates from the Met Office before you travel.
Airport staff turned Christmas elves as they donated £10,000 worth of presents for neighbouring communities
Colleagues at Manchester Airport donated more than £10,000 worth of gifts to local people, that were distributed by more than a dozen community centres, food banks, care homes and homeless accommodation across the region.
The airport’s annual ‘Giftmas’ appeal, which aims to reach children and vulnerable adults who would otherwise not wake up to a present on Christmas morning, triggered a huge response with around 1,000 gifts gathered by airport colleagues.
The donated gifts included books, jigsaws, toys, socks, gloves, colouring sets and school supplies. The airport then topped this up with more than 1,500 additional gifts, to a total of 2,500 Christmas presents.
Managing Director Chris Woodroofe and other members of the airport’s senior leadership were among the airport staff who volunteered their time to wrap the presents, which were distributed to around a dozen community centres, care homes, family charities and foodbanks over the past week.
The airport’s Community Engagement team organised the collection and distribution of the gifts and were also involved in a number of other projects to support those living close to the airport throughout 2025. These included an ‘Autumn Leaves’ lunch for people aged over 65 in the Woodhouse Park area, in an effort to combat social isolation in older age groups, and more than £100,000 worth of donations made to dozens of good causes across Greater Manchester and Cheshire by the airport’s Community Trust Fund.
Lighting Up Macclesfield!
by Macclesfield Town Council
Macclesfield Lantern Festival combines Macclesfield Town Councils Lantern Parade and Northern Light and comes to town on Saturday 24 January 2026.
This FREE event promises to be a feel good afternoon and evening right in the centre of town, with a few familiar faces helping out – giant lobster anyone?!
The Town Council are inviting you to assemble at the Silk Museum from 4:30pm with your lanterns, ready to join the parade and set off at 5pm.
The parade will head up Mill Street and finish at Market Place where there will be a selection of walkabout entertainment, fire and glow performances and more until 7:30pm. R&G’s Beer Vault will be there with their hot drinks stall to help keep out the cold as well as the cafes and bars in the surrounding streets.
If you want to take part in the parade and need to make a lantern, then we’ve got a range of workshops for you.
The Silk Museum will be running workshops on Saturday 24 January - these will be free but spaces are limited so you'll need to book in one of the slots. You can book via their website.
If you miss out on a spot then you can always head to the drop-in session run by Macclesfield Community Artspace in the Grosvenor Centre, 2pm – 4pm in the unit opposite Timpsons. The workshop is free and all kit required to make your milk bottle Elmer lantern will be provided to you.
ArtSpace will also be running an evening session at their Gunco Lane HQ on Tuesday 20 January, 6pm – 8pm, for those interested in making a wire based Elmer lantern, please book via the Artpsace website.
So put on your best light-up trainers, grab a torch and we’ll see you in town, Saturday 24 January, 4:30pm – 7:30pm.
