Adam Thomas, 37, says he's suffering from 'severe pain' and vows to 'start taking care of his body again' as he gives an update on battle with arthritis

Adam Thomas has vowed he's going to 'start taking care of his body again' after suffering from 'severe pain' during his battle with psoriatic arthritis.

The Emmerdale star, 37, has documented his crippling struggles with the condition after being diagnosed in 2023, just weeks before his stint on Strictly Come Dancing.

In a new Instagram post, Adam has shared that he became 'complacent' with his arthritis treatment, and since then has been struggling with the debilitating symptoms.

Arthritis is a common condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint and affects millions of people in the UK. There is currently no cure. 

Describing the pain as a 'big wake up call,' Adam told his followers that he's going to start 'listening to his body' and hopes the pain isn't a result of the medication he takes no longer having the same effect.

Adam shared the post alongside a snap of himself injecting arthritis medication into his leg, and in a video on his Stories, shared his 'worries' that he'd become immune to the treatment.

He wrote: 'Stop thinking you're invincible, because you're not! Over the past few days, I've felt it creeping back in, the pain in my wrists, my fingers, then the psoriasis came back too!

'Over Christmas, I got complacent, I missed my injections, I thought it will be fine! But how wrong was I… A few days ago I had a big wake up call literally!

'I woke up in the middle of the night with severe pain in my wrists, in that moment, i went straight back to that scared little boy I used to be, living with pain and fear.

'Don't get me wrong, the pain has eased a bit since, maybe I slept on it funny, I'm not sure, but I know I'm not pain free anymore! Somethings changed… The meds I'm on, your body can get used to them, miss them, and they can stop working altogether, that thought scares the s**t out of me! 

'I'm hoping it's just because I missed them and need to get back on track. Truth is… I got comfortable, I got lazy, I thought I'd beaten it, but I was wrong… it's still there,

'I can feel it, waiting…. Truth is I don't think you beat it, you just learn to live with it, Control it! This is a reminder to myself, and to anyone else who needs to hear it, don't get comfortable, don't get lazy, don't think you're invincible.

'I need to start taking care of my body again! Yes am enjoying training at the moment, but maybe I just need to not over do it so much, and focus on listening to my body again. Stay consistent adam x and look after your self x.'

Adam then shared a series of videos with his followers on Instagram Stories after being flooded with messages from fans enduring the same arthritis struggles. 

He said: 'First and foremost, my love goes out to you guys, I know how you feel and I know how challenging it can be. I'm just going through a little bit of a tough time, I just feel it's slowly coming back and it's scaring me a bit.

'My fingers are lot more tighter, my wrists are really sore now, I'm hoping it's just a flare-up, but it doesn't seem to be going away, but if you guys have got any advice.

'If anyone is going through the same thing I'm going through and is on these biologic injections, I'm just worried if I'm being brutally honest, I really started this year off really positive, and I really felt like I was making a big improvement, but I know that I've made a big improvement with every aspect of my life this month.

'I've really focused and locked in, and this just came out of nowhere one night, I just woke up in the middle of the night and it was the most severe pain and I literally, I woke up crying, because I felt like I'd just ge back to the old me again and it scared me to death.

'I'm hoping it's just because I missed the injection, and not that the medication is wearing off because if that's the case, I'm back to square one again.

'I know there's so many people that have been on the biologic injections and it's lasted years.

'I've only been on it for a couple of months now, and don't get me wrong, the couple of months have literally changed my life, it really has and I'm so grateful this medication did work for me, because I know how long and tiring it can be trying to find a medication that works, 

'And again I know there's so many people that have been on this medication for years, and I've started to look into it, and do some research on it, when I say research, I saw a few things on Instagram, and apparently your body can get immune to the biologic injections and also if you don't take your medications when you're meant to, the arthritis will come back, not that it's gona away but you will have a flare up.'

'I'm going ''it's just a flare up'' and I'm hopping my body isn't immune to the new medication.'

Sharing his fears that he may need new treatment, Adam said: 'I don't know if I can go through that again... it's so so lonely, so draining, it's horrific and I'm sort of blaming myself really because I did get complacent, it's crazy how quick you can go ''oh right I'm fine again! Let's go to the gym, let's go jump out of a plane!'' 

'You can get so carried away with just being normal again, you just not necessarily forget about the arthritis, you just sort of accept this new life you've got, this life you've been wanting for so long, to be able to move again...

'The pain did subside a little bit, but it's still there, it's only in this wrist for some reason, it's sort of a good sign, I hope it is anyway but I just hope it doesn't get any worse, I had my medications again last night, but I hope an extra dose... because I had my injection last night as well, I was hoping the pain would have gone away.'

Adam then reflected on the 'immense' feeling of the pain disappearing when he was first given the medication after struggling with symptoms for three years, and vowed he was going to 'stay positive' by hoping this pain was just a flare-up.

The Waterloo Road star had revealed back in June that he was free of pain from arthritis for the first time in over two years thanks to the miraculous biologic injection.

Biological injections are types of medication that use proteins to target specific parts of the immune systems suffering with inflammation.

Just a month or so before discovering the injection, Adam shared an emotional plea to 'take my pain away' as his suffering became almost unbearable.

In a caption accompanying a photo of him laying on a massage bed, the 36-year-old wrote: 'This disease really does f**k with your head, especially when you're trying to shift Some weight and get Into a routine of exercise!

'Constant battle constant set backs! Just take my pain away please!! I've suffered enough now!

'Am really trying to hold myself together but it's not easy!

'Just one of those days ... keep fighting people... on the days where we can't train ... we have to take care of ourselves x self care and recovery.'

And months before that the soap star admitted he could 'barely walk' due to the debilitating nature of the disease.

'The pain is pretty unbearable at the moment,' he posted in October.

'It's as if my whole body is seizing up! The pain was bad before, but it's a lot worse now… how why.'

Addressing his treatment, he said: 'Now I wish I never came off the methotrexate because I would take that pain to this every day of the week!!

'I've just started my new medication today which takes 12 weeks to take effect and even then it might not work so am not too sure what I can do to ease the pain until then? I've had my steroid injections and it literally lasted a week.

'I couldn't even get dressed this morning on my own, couldn't drive to work, I mean I can barely walk and my wrists and fingers feel like they're broken that's no exaggeration!

'I wouldn't have got out of bed today if it wasn't for work. It got better through out the day with a s**t load of painkillers!

'But wow… these last few days have been scary had a little cry to myself today it can just really get on top of you!!

'Am not saying this for a sob story or for sympathy just trying to bring awareness to this disease and what so many others are going through the good the bad the ugly … I'm lucky I have a great support system and not many do so to anyone who is going through the same thing and is alone! I see you you I feel you!!

'It's going to get better don't give up x if you know anyone who's suffering just give them a call and check in.'

Adam - the brother of Love Island star Scott and fellow soap star Ryan - landed his breakthrough role as Donte Charles on BBC One's Waterloo Road in 2002, acting on the show for a further thee years.

He later appeared in Emmerdale as Adam Barton, featuring on the show from 2009 to 2018 and becoming a fan-favourite.

In 2016, he appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, finishing in third place behind Joel Dommett and Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt.