Arthritis, whether rheumatoid or osteoarthritis, wears at the ordinary things: gripping a knife, standing at the hob, bending to the toilet, doing up buttons, walking to the corner. This page shows one honest way to describe those limits across all 12 PIP activities, in the plain first-person wording an assessor is trained to look for.
Arthritis is not one thing. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition where the immune system attacks the joints, often the hands, wrists and feet on both sides, with swelling, heat and long morning stiffness. Osteoarthritis is the wearing of the cartilage in weight-bearing joints such as the hips, knees and spine, with pain that builds through the day and after activity. Many people have more than one form, and both can leave joints stiff, swollen, weak and painful.
On a PIP form the assessor is not scoring your diagnosis. They are scoring how the condition affects the everyday tasks in the two parts of the assessment, daily living and mobility. For arthritis the honest picture usually turns on a handful of recurring problems:
The single idea that decides most arthritis claims is reliability. The rules say you can only be counted as able to do an activity if you can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time, meaning no more than about twice as long as someone without your condition. Arthritis fails those tests often: you can chop a carrot once but drop the knife the second time, you can wash your hair but not reach your back, you can walk to the gate but not without stopping in pain, and first thing in the morning you cannot do any of it. Fluctuating conditions are judged on your worst and most common days, not your best. Good answers make those limits plain, and that is the thread running through every card below.
What to cover for each one. Your paid form writes the full answers for you.
Describe how a weak, unreliable grip makes chopping, peeling and lifting pans dangerous, and how you may manage once but drop the knife the second time. Mention any perching stool, adapted cutlery or lightweight pans, and any help you need. Explain that on stiff mornings or flare days you cannot cook safely at all, so the task is not done reliably or in a reasonable time.
Explain that stiff, painful fingers struggle to hold cutlery or a full cup, so food gets cut up beforehand and hot drinks have been dropped or spilled. Mention aids such as a two-handled or lightweight cup and any built-up cutlery. Note that on bad days someone helps, and that spilling or dropping is a safety point worth making plain rather than glossing over.
Describe how weak fingers cannot press tablets from blister packs or manage small bottle caps, so a pharmacy dosette box or blister pack is used. Mention any reminders or help you need to take medication and monitor a fluctuating condition on time. Explain that fatigue and flares can make you miss doses without support, which is the reliability point that matters here.
Describe how painful hips and knees make lowering onto and rising from the toilet slow and unsafe, and how stiff hands and limited reach make cleaning yourself difficult. Mention aids such as a raised toilet seat, grab rails or a long-handled aid, and any help you rely on. Explain that first thing in the morning, when you are stiffest, you cannot manage safely without them.
Arthritis does not usually reach speech or hearing, so for most people this one is best left alone. What can count is arthritis in the jaw or neck that makes talking painful or hard to keep up, or strong painkillers that leave you too foggy to follow what is being said, so information has to be repeated or written down. Only answer yes here if one of those is genuinely true for you.
This question is about taking in written information rather than about your hands, so arthritis usually does not reach it. What can count is pain, poor sleep or strong medication leaving you unable to concentrate well enough to take a letter in, so you go over the same lines and still need someone to explain it to you. If you read and understand your post without help, leave this one alone.
This activity is about being able to be around other people, not about how often you get out. What can count is the low mood or anxiety that living with constant pain can bring, so that company causes real distress or you can only face it with someone you trust beside you. If you are comfortable in company and the barrier is simply getting there, put that under moving around or planning a journey instead.
Arthritis does not affect the sums themselves, so for most people money is not the issue here. What can count is pain or fatigue that stops you concentrating long enough to work out a budget or deal with a bill, or heavy painkillers that leave you muddled enough that someone else has to check your decisions. If you handle your own bills and budgeting, leave this one alone.
This question is about planning a route and coping with the journey itself, not about how far you can walk, so keep the distance under moving around. What can count is needing someone with you because you are frightened of falling or of being stranded when a joint gives way part of the way there, or anxiety that stops you setting off on an unfamiliar route at all. If you can plan and follow a journey and the only problem is the walking, leave this one alone.
Describe the distance you can walk before hip, knee or back pain stops you, and whether you use a stick or need to stop and rest. Mention how much slower and more painful walking is, and how far you can go repeatedly rather than just once. Explain that flares and bad days cut the distance further, so judge it on your worst and most common days, not your best.
The tips above are general pointers. Your paid form gives you a full, ready-to-copy answer for all 12 activities, written from your exact conditions, medication, aids and bad days - not a general example. This is a worked example for arthritis; yours is written for you. £99.99 one-off.
These cards show one honest way a person with arthritis might describe a bad day, so you can see the level of detail and the plain wording that assessors are trained to look for. They are here to learn from, not to copy word for word. Your own answers should describe your joints, your aids and the way arthritis actually affects your day, because that is what makes an answer ring true and that is what the assessment is about. If a task is easier or harder for you than the example, say so in your own words.
Arthritis is a physical condition and does not usually affect talking, reading, mixing with people, managing money or planning a route in your head, so it is honest to tick no on those unless there is a genuine link for you. Only claim a difficulty you really have, because an assessor will look for it to match the rest of your form and your medical records.
The remembering idea across all of it is reliability: safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time. If your grip fails the second time, if the stiffness stops you first thing, if a task takes you twice as long, or if you can only manage by risking a fall, that belongs on the form. The DWP always makes the final decision, but describing your worst and most common days accurately gives your form the strongest chance of being understood.
Tell us about your health and we will write one full activity for you, free, before you pay anything.
Fill my form - free preview →