Why Norway sends its arthritis patients to Lanzarote

Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases are among the most common conditions people live with long term, and among the easiest to underestimate. It shows up in stiff mornings, in cold weeks and settles into the joints, and in the movements people quietly stop trusting their body to make.

12 October is World Arthritis Day, which is as good a reason as any to talk about what actually helps. Casas Heddy is a recovery resort in Lanzarote, and the warm climate does real clinical work here. Norway’s public health service has sent rheumatic patients south for decades, because warmth, light and steady movement ease stiff and painful joints. We have built a full rehabilitation programme around that, with physiotherapy, training and follow-up throughout the stay.

When we followed up guests who live with rheumatic conditions, they reported close to two thirds less pain after a stay with us. 

The climate and the programme do the real work, and the study is built on exactly that. The rest is simpler. At home, a painful body still has to plan the meals, keep the training going and handle everything a day demands. Here, that is taken care of, and most guests feel lighter for it.

It is part of why Norwegian health authorities renewed their agreement with Casas Heddy this year, after weighing the quality of the care well above its price. For anyone thinking of coming on their own account, that is worth knowing. An independent public body looked closely at how we work and chose to keep sending patients here.

None of this makes arthritis go away. But warmth, steady movement and a lighter load for a while tend to add up to more than people expect, and for many of our guests the difference lasts well past the flight home.

Sources: Aaron et al., JAMA Network Open 2025 (ca. 39–40 %), and British Journal of Sports Medicine