‘Even my best friend didn’t know’: Usman Khawaja reveals why he kept his rheumatoid arthritis a secret

From theguardian.com

• Opener played through pain to establish himself as a Test cricketer

• ‘I didn’t want anyone to use it against me,’ he says

• 
  

Usman Khawaja has opened up on why he kept the rheumatoid arthritis that threatened his playing future a secret for his entire Test career.

The former Test star releases his autobiography, Sabr, on 10 November, which he said he wrote “for people who do love cricket and for those who don’t”.

“We are all human and go through the ups and downs of life. I go through the ups and downs of cricket and it gets accentuated because everyone gets to see it,” Khawaja said.

One key aspect of Khawaja’s career the public did not know about was the arthritis diagnosis at the age of 22 after the pain in his left knee was so great he couldn’t walk 10m to the bathroom.

Only regular injections kept him on his feet and able to play cricket. He still has them.

“It was debilitating. I took an injection last night,” Khawaja said in Brisbane on Monday. “It was part of the reason that I did my back at the end of my career, but I couldn’t tell anyone.

“I never got injured before I had my arthritic illness, but after that I got injured quite a lot and had to find a way to get my body in the right spot. Even my best friend from high school, Ardil, didn’t know until one year ago.”

The reason Khawaja didn’t open up about it? “I didn’t want anyone to use it against me,” he said. “I felt like I already had all these stereotypes I was trying to beat in Australian cricket, and I didn’t want to use that as an excuse.”

Usman Khawaja has said he played through pain for most of his career after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images for Cricket Australia

Keeping the illness secret was a feat in itself. He said he was thankful the people who did know initially at Cricket NSW, Cricket Australia and various medical staff “kept to their ethical code and didn’t say anything”.

Khawaja, who made 6,229 Test runs with 16 centuries, did not engage a ghost writer for his book for one simple reason.

“I didn’t think anyone could encapsulate my story like I could because no one has been through the same journey in Australian cricket like I have,” he said.

“The immigrant, brown, Pakistani Muslim kid coming from overseas to play our national game is something I didn’t feel comfortable someone else writing about.”

Khawaja met with Australia captain Pat Cummins to tell him about the aspect of his book that deals with the infamous Sandpapergate ball-tampering episode in South Africa in 2018.

“I didn’t come out in my book to shock and awe,” Khawaja grinned. “It is my story. People have learned over time that I am pretty open and honest about most things. My goal for my story was to relate to everyone.

“I love autobiographies, and cricket ones in particular. I found that people talked a lot about the cricket but not a lot about themself a lot of the time.”

Khawaja writes about his subcontinent life and then his life as a cricketer in Australia. He said there were “funny stories” and “great learnings”.

“There are also some tough times with racial vilification, but amalgamated together it is a different story to anything you would have read in a cricket autobiography,” he said.

Khawaja has proven to be a trailblazer in Australian cricket who opened a door for others to follow.

“There hadn’t been another me before me, but now there are plenty of players with a subcontinent background coming in,” he said. “You’ve got Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha and Gurinder Sandhu.”

Tanveer Sangha and Sandhu have both played white-ball cricket for Australia.

“They haven’t cracked the Tests, which is the hardest,” Khawaja said. “That is always the goal. When we start seeing the Test team represented by the multicultural community, that is when you know you have started to make headway.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/oct/26/usman-khawaja-reveals-why-he-kept-rheumatoid-arthritis-secret

The couples who cope together, stay together

From eurekalert.org

An Australian-first study has lifted the lid on how couples living with rheumatoid arthritis cope with the debilitating disease finding that those who cope with problems together had less psychological distress and better relationships.

The study, published in The Journal of Rheumatology examined dyadic coping - when a couple engages in joint problem solving, joint information gathering, or the sharing of feelings and mutual commitment - from both partners' perspectives using a sample of 163 couples.

“Dyadic coping, the process of coping that transpires between couples challenged by one partner’s illness, is an important predictor of disease adjustment and patient well-being,” says lead author Dr Manasi Murthy Mittinty from the College of Medicine and Public Health.

“Dyadic coping contributes to a sense of togetherness, encouraging couples to develop strategies as a unit to respond to stressful events, and it represents a protective factor for minimising the risk of divorce.

“Working together as a couple is crucial for managing the challenges they face when one partner has an illness, particularly in rheumatoid arthritis.”

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition that can cause irreversible tissue damage, progressive deformity and pain. Approximately 18 million people worldwide are living with RA, including nearly 456,000 Australians.

Although management of RA has improved dramatically due to biologics, some patients are still confronted by severe physical pain and stiffness and about 35% of people report experiencing mental and behavioural conditions, such as bipolar disorder, mania and anxiety disorder.

“We found that supportive dyadic coping leads to lower depression, anxiety, and stress for patients, as well as improved relationship quality. In contrast, negative dyadic coping increases psychological distress and reduces relationship quality for both partners,” says Dr Mittinty.

“By examining the interpersonal dynamics of couples grappling with chronic disease, we hope to significantly improve the quality of life for patients living with rheumatoid arthritis and their spouse.”

The study is the first in Australia to report dyadic coping from the perspective of both participants with RA and their spouses.

RA patients and their spouses were invited to participate in an online survey study if they were more than 18 years old and had lived together for more than a year. The survey included the Chronic Pain Grade Scale, Dyadic Coping Inventory, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and Dyadic Adjustment Scale.

“The results underscore the interconnected nature of dyadic coping, highlighting the need to consider both viewpoints in understanding its impact on couples.

“For decades, the focus has been limited to reducing patients’ illness-related distress and improving patient outcomes. More recently, scientists have adopted a new approach into understanding how illness in a spouse can affect the couple’s relationship and the other spouse’s well-being.

“Our findings demonstrate the reciprocal nature of dyadic coping that transpires between patients with RA and their spouses and showcases that integrating dyadic coping training in disease management may be a valuable resource for enhanced mental health outcomes and relationship quality of couples,” she adds.

The article, ‘Interpersonal Process of Dyadic Coping in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Perspective From the Australian Rheumatology Association Database’, by Manasi M. Mittinty, Murthy N. Mittinty, Rachelle Buchbinder, Marissa Lassere, Vibhasha Chand, Samuel Whittle, Lyn March and Catherine Hill was published in The Journal of Rheumatology. DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.2023-0664

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1062990

Hope for psoriatic arthritis patients after research breakthrough

From illawarramercury.com.au

Half a million Australians affected by a debilitating skin and joint disease could be one step closer to a cure after a major scientific breakthrough.

Researchers from the Australian National University have discovered a gene mutation is responsible for psoriasis outbreaks.

Patients living with the auto-immune disease carry a mutated IKBKB gene, and patients with psoriatic arthritis could carry two versions of the gene.

Almost one-third of Australians with psoriasis go on to develop psoriatic arthritis, characterised by pain, joint stiffness and swelling.

ANU researcher Chelisa Cardinez said the scientific breakthrough, which came from mice-testing, may lead to earlier detection and treatment.

"Delays in psoriatic arthritis diagnosis is linked to worse clinical outcomes for patients," she said.

"By developing a better understanding of the IKBKB gene and the role it plays in promoting the onset of these diseases, it could bring us a step closer to one day finding a cure," Dr Cardinez said.

                             A breakthrough on the genetic drivers of psoriasis offers hope for people living with the disease. 

                                                                                                  (David Crosling/AAP PHOTOS)

Rebecca Davey is one Australian living with the disease.

"People don't understand the debilitating effects these conditions can have on the individual and a whole family when someone is in constant pain," she said.

Ms Davey was forced to give up her nursing job due to the irritation of constant hand washing on her skin, and says she has faced stigma for her disease.

"So many people are accused of having poor hygiene due to the plaques or even just minor skin lesions as they erupt," she said.

"I had no idea what was causing my hands to flare up all the time ... our poor GPs often don't recognise these conditions early."

There is a shortage of skin doctors in Australia, with just 645 practising dermatologists and only six per cent working in regional or remote areas.

Rheumatologists are also in short supply.

In 2021 there were 380 adult and 20 paediatric rheumatologists in Australia, to care for seven million Australians.

Ms Davey says the shortages are making the disease harder for patients.

"People can wait over a year for an appointment if their symptoms are less dramatic," she said.

"We must raise greater awareness of invisible disabilities such as those created by these conditions."

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/8568235/hope-after-research-breakthrough-for-psoriasis-patients/