Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis 

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, also known as JIA, is the name given to several forms of arthritis in children and teenagers.

Juvenile means the arthritis begins before the age of 16, idiopathic means the cause is not known and arthritis means one or more joints are inflamed – that is, swollen, painful, stiff and they may not have as much range of movement as other joints.

Adam McCarthy was diagnosed at 10 years old. 

James Lowe was diagnosed at 14 years old. 

Watch our new video below raising awareness of JIA and hear James and Adam's inspirational stories. 

"Regular activity was awesome for me, it made me feel good. There was no way that arthritis was going to stop me. Once I was put on the right medication, I came out the other side of it. The advice I’d give is to be patient and understand that this is going to take some time, but you’ll get through it”. - James Lowe (Ireland & Leinster Rugby Player)

“I never knew that kids could get arthritis, I thought it was something your grandparents got. Before it happened, when an obstacle came, I’d think this is going to be impossible to get around. But then when the biggest one I had to face came, I got over it.” - Adam McCarthy (Schoolboy)