Current Arthritis News and Research » Arthritis

Exercise for Arthritis Part 1

awesome — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:47:22 +0000

Research has shown that one of the best treatments for arthritis sufferers is exercise. Exercising strengthens the muscles which contributes to reduced stress on the joints. This then leads to improving the strength of the bones and health and flexibility of the connecting cartilage tissue.

For most arthritis patients the recommendation is to get a minimum of 30 minutes of activity a day. Of course you should talk to your doctor before beginning any new exercise program to make sure there are no unforeseen risks.

Regardless of the type of exercise you want to undertake all sessions should start with a warm-up session. Mild stretching is recommended as the best way to warm up. This will help you prepare for more strenuous exercises by getting your body moving, and helping you to relax and ease tension from your body. Good range of motion exercises include yoga and tai chi. Range of motion exercises can be done in a pool, hot tub, warm bath or on dry land. Increase the length of time performing range of motion exercises until you are able to 15 minutes continuously. At that point additional aerobic and strengthening exercises can be added.

One of the most underrated exercises, but typically one of the best, is walking. Walking is an excellent exercise for improving the symptoms of arthritis. Adding weights as little as one pound and using your arms as you walk can involve the whole body. The best way to stay motivated is to make walking an interesting exercise. Walk through different parks, change the route that you take, walk through the local mall or shopping district. And one of the best ways to keep the motivation up is to walk with a friend. That way you can encourage each other.

Aquatic exercise is another excellent way to improve your flexibility and relieve your arthritis symptoms. Since water can provide both warmth for the joints and support for the body, it help provide strength training for arthritis patients without the stress on the joints that jogging brings. Additionally, aquatic exercise can get your entire body involved which gives the added benefit of cardiovascular exercise. Heated pools or spas provide the best environment for arthritis patients to do aquatic exercise. The warm water helps to relax the muscles which then makes it easier to exercise. Furthermore, warm water increases blood circulation by causing the blood vessels to dilate.

Many people do not have easy access to a pool, but fortunately spas are also a good choice for people with arthritis. Spas enable higher heat than a pool which, along with the spa’s water jets, can provide additional relief to aching joints. Many exercises can be performed in a spa, or the spa can be used after your workout to provide soothing heat to the joints, while helping increase the blood circulation.

Additional options for exercise include yoga. In general, yoga is known in the West as a group of pose oriented stretching exercises. Practitioners of yoga extol it as being beneficial for increasing flexibility and reducing mental and physical stress. Yoga classes are frequently offered through local community colleges or community organizations.

Originally posted 2009-06-15 12:00:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Arthritis News on Your Smartphone

awesome — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:47:17 +0000

The number of people using smartphones is increasing at a furious pace. Along with that is the increase in the number of people accessing the web from their phone. Whether it’s a Blackberry, iPhone or one of the number of devices available today, it is the newest trend.

So I have installed a plugin that will format the Current Arthritis News and Research blog to be more readable on your mobile device. In fact, I am making this post from my Moto Q phone.

If you arrived at this site on your mobile device, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Originally posted 2009-01-20 11:36:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Disability Statistics for RA Patients Improves

awesome — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:47:14 +0000

Many people diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have found themselves unable to work. In fact, older studies have found that upwards of half of all people diagnosed with RA for 10 or more years have been unable to continue working.

But more recent information has shown that this statistic has been improving since the mid-1980s.

A report in the April issue of Arthritis Care and Research details the research conducted by a team from Boston University. The researchers analyzed data from nearly 5,400 rheumatoid arthritis patients who responded to semi-annual surveys between January 2002 and December 2005. The survey collected responses related to work status, discontinuation of work and discontinuation of work due to arthritis.

The study found that 85% of the participants were employed at the time they were diagnosed and that 56% were still employed. 44% of those that were not employed indicated that they were disabled.

As expected, the percentage of people that stopped working as a result of arthritis based disability increased with the duration of the disease.

The researchers concluded that even though the work disability was high, it may actually represent a decline from the 50% reported in 1987.

Originally posted 2008-04-23 21:08:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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New Research Planned into Arthritis Placebo Treatment

awesome — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:47:12 +0000

The University of Manchester is currently recruiting 90 people for an upcoming study into how placebos work. This group includes 30 with chronic, widespread pain, 30 with osteoarthritis and 30 healthy people as controls. The recruits will be from the musculoskeletal pain clinic at Hope Hospital in Salford and other pain clinics.

Most trials include some form of placebo in order to determine the true results of the tested treatment. Patients receiving a placebo frequently experience improvement in their symptoms due to the “power of suggestion” as opposed to any effect from an actual drug. It is this effect that researchers hope to bring light upon as potential treatments for chronic conditions, such as arthritis.

Neuro Rheumatology Professor Anthony Jones, of the Human Pain Research Group at Hope Hospital, is the research lead for a team that has been looking into the placebo effect for several years. His team has studied the body’s response to pain and how to measure anticipation of pain using EEG.

So far they have found that pain relief as a result of the placebo effect appears to be related to structures in the front of the brain that manage the anticipation of pain.

The planned study will look into the placebo effect on fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis patients to determine if they release natural pain killers, known as “endogenous pain control mechanisms”.

The research team believes that people with chronic widespread pain have abnormalities the way that they anticipate and focus on pain. It is suggested that this results in them feeling greater pain than other people.

“Placebo can affect patients’ response to pain therapy and also influence the results of clinical trials,” said Professor Jones.

“We have shown that responses to experimental placebo alter how the brain responds to pain and, also, that responses to experimental placebo persist in repeated testing in healthy volunteers. This allows us to measure how the brain’s pain control system is being activated under different conditions.

“We hope this study will help us understand how the brain deals with pain, and is also likely to lead to the development of new pain-killing therapies and better ways of testing then.”

Originally posted 2008-08-08 21:47:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Tart Cherries May Reduce Arthritis Inflammation

awesome — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:47:11 +0000

We have provided numerous posts regarding the potential positive effects of foods on arthritis symptoms. Some of these include coffee, green tea, alchohol, soft drinks, fish oil, and vegan diet. So it should be no surprise when more are discovered.

Another of these foods that has been researched in recent years is tart red cherries.

A study conducted in 2003 by the University of California, Davis was the first to test for key inflammatory indicators, called markers, in blood samples from healthy people. Prior studies had analyzed sweet and tart cherry extracts in test tubes.

The primary focus of the investigation was gout, which results from the body’s inability to excrete uric acid. This excess uric acid forms crystals which settle in joints, primarily the big toe, and cause severe pain. The precursor of these crystals is urate and it was the blood plasma urate level that was being measured. They also measured the amount of urate removed from the body through urine.

There were 10 women is this study who were 22 to 40 years of age. They were given instructions not to eat strawberries or other fruits and vegetables, or drink red wine or tea for 2 days prior to the test because these foods are high in antioxidants and the researchers did not want these to interfere with the results of the cherry analysis.

On the day of the test they were given 45 pitted fresh cherries for breakfast. Blood and urine samples were then taken at 1-1/2, 3 and 5 hours afterward.

The results showed that their plasma urate levels were significantly reduced over the 5 hours following the breakfast. Likewise, the level of urate removed through the urine increased over those 5 hours.

There were other inflammation markers the researchers looked for. These include C-reactive protein (CRP), nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF).

CRP is produced in the liver and increases rapidly during inflammation. Normal levels are extremely low. TNF alpha is produced by the body when fighting tumors and may increase inflammation. NO is a biochemical that is believed to cause damage to arthritic joints.

Results from the blood draw 3 hours after eating the cherries showed that levels of CRP and NO were lower than at the start of the test. However, the TNF alpha level was unchanged.

A follow up study, which included 18 women and 2 men, was conducted over a longer period. This group was asked to consume the same amount of cherries as the earlier group, but throughout the day for 28 consecutive days.

This study reported a 25% decrease in CRP by the 28th day and an 18% decrease in NO after 21 days. The report concluded that, “supplementing the diets of healthy men and women with cherries reduced the serum/plasma concentrations of some markers of inflammation, whereas circulating concentrations of many other markers of inflammation, lipids and their subfractions, and particle sizes were not affected. The anti-inflammatory effects of cherries may be of clinical significance and should be investigated in further studies. “

Originally posted 2008-09-26 21:48:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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