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A Look At Arthritis: America's Leading Cause of Disability

Posted by jutawan akhrat Friday, February 12, 2010 0 comments

by: Larry Denton

The word arthritis literally means joint inflammation, but it is often used to refer to a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases that cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints. The most common are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and gout. Most forms of arthritis are associated with pain that can be divided into two categories: acute and chronic. Acute pain is temporary. It can last a few seconds or a few minutes but diminishes as healing occurs. Acute pain is associated with burns, cuts and fractures. Chronic pain, such as that felt by people with arthritis, ranges from mild to severe and can last days, months, years or even a lifetime.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most frequent causes of physical disability among adults. More than 20 million people in the United States, alone, have the disease. By 2030, according the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 20 percent of all Americans--about 70 million people--will have passed their 65th birthday and will be at a higher risk of osteoarthritis.

Arthritis limits the everyday activity of 8 million Americans, and this disability creates huge burdens for the individuals, their families, and the nation as a whole. Each year, arthritis results in 9,500 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations. According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Control, in 1997, medical care for arthritis (in the U.S.) was $51 billion.

This disease affects each person quite differently. In some people it progresses quickly and in others the symptoms are much more serious and painful. Medical practitioners do not yet know what causes arthritis, but they suspect a combination of factors including: being overweight, the aging process, family history, joint injury, and stresses on the joints from work or sporting activities.

There is no single treatment that applies to everyone who suffers from arthritis. With your personal input, a medical specialist will develop a management and treatment plan designed to minimize your specific pain and improve the function of your joints. A number of treatments can provide short-term relief. They include: medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, the use of hot and cold packs, using a splint or a brace to protect painful joints, or perhaps using muscle-relaxing massages.

In the long-term, pain relief may be found with: new drugs, called biological response modifiers, which reduce inflammation in the joints; corticosteroids such as Prednisone; weight reduction; dietary changes; exercise (swimming, walking and low-impact aerobic exercise); and even surgery to replace a joint that has badly deteriorated. In some instances, nutritional supplements may be helpful.

The long-term goal of pain management is to help you cope with this chronic, often disabling disease. You may be caught in a cycle of pain, depression, and stress. To break this cycle, you need to be an active participant in managing your pain. The role you play in planning your treatment is very important. You and your health care providers must work together closely to develop a personalized and effective treatment program. Research has shown that patients who are well informed and participate actively in their own care, experience less pain, make fewer visits to the doctor and lead a much more enjoyable life.

Larry Denton is a retired history teacher having taught 33 years at Hobson High in Hobson, Montana. He is currently Vice President of Elfin Enterprises, Inc. an Internet business dedicated to providing information and resources on a variety of topics. For a therapy room full of accurate information and valuable resources to assist you in finding answers to your most demanding questions about arthritis, visit http://www.ArthritisAide.com.

Arthritis Treatments

Posted by jutawan akhrat Thursday, February 11, 2010 0 comments

by: Alison Cole

The best course to solve the problem of arthritis is to take it seriously the moment it crops up. Since arthritis is the next most prevalent disease after heart attack, you can very legitimately suspect your pain to be related to arthritis. So the moment you feel pain anywhere in your body, you should immediately visit your doctor for a checkup.

Diagnosis itself can go a long way in reducing the severity of the pain, even though it may not be enough to eliminate the disease altogether. An aggressive approach is necessary to teat arthritis. If you are diagnosed as afflicted with arthritis, your doctor will also be able to tell you the type of arthritis you may be suffering from. This will ensure you get specific treatment. Besides following the advice of your physician, you must also consult your physiotherapist who can guide you regarding exercises to reduce the pain associated with the disease.

Initially you may find that a particular type of treatment or medicine is not suiting you. This is because the nature of pain also may vary from time to time and therefore the medicines or the treatment may have to vary accordingly. Once the type of arthritis has been identified, a reliable treatment may then start.

Arthritis cannot be completely cured and you may have to continue taking medicines and doing exercises for a long time. You may then feel inclined to buy over-the-counter medicines about which you may have come across in the Internet or the newspapers. Keep in mind that these medicines may do you more harm than good.

Besides following your doctor�s and physiotherapist�s advice, do remember it is your own attitude towards life in general and arthritis in particular, that will affect your response to the treatment. A person with optimistic and healthy outlook is likely to feel less pain than the one who is always depressed and pessimistic. Excessive anxiety or tension aggravates the pain and weakens your will to fight the disease and survive. A hopeful and joyous attitude helps a lot in reducing pain.

Arthritis provides detailed information on Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Arthritis Pain, Arthritis Treatments and more. Arthritis is affliated with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Arthritis

Posted by jutawan akhrat Wednesday, February 10, 2010 0 comments


by: Alison Cole

Arthritis is a painful disease of the joints that can affect a person likes fingers, elbows, knees, and ankles - as well as the various internal organs of the body. Besides feeling acute pain the patient may have swelling and stiffness also. In fact the pain is so acute at times that movement too becomes restricted; a person may find it almost impossible to make any movement at all. Sometimes, a person with arthritis may find it difficult to even bathe, walk, dress or even stand properly.

There are numerous forms of arthritis and millions of people the world over are afflicted with the malady. In terms of number of cases, arthritis is second only to heart disease. Whatever the type of arthritis, the common symptom is persistent pain. Arthritis like quite a number of other diseases has no definite; the result is that no cure of the disease has been found. Generally speaking, a person may have inherited the disease from the parents or may have contracted it due to a particular life style also.

If you are unfortunate enough to suffer form joint pains for more than a fortnight or so, you must not ignore it or try to cure it yourself by buying over-the-counter medicines. The best course therefore is to immediately consult your doctor to have your problem diagnosed and go by his advice. If you suffer from arthritis, ask your doctor its type. This alone can ensure the right treatment of the disease. Although there is nothing you can do to completely eradicate it, still you can manage to reduce the severity of the pain and manage to live more comfortably than many others. It is therefore in your best interest to take arthritis seriously in the beginning of the disease and take the treatment in earnest.

There is however a ray of hope for people suffering from arthritis. Practicing Yoga, the Oriental system of exercises discovered by the sages hundreds of years ago, can certainly go a long way in mitigating the pain and in some cases completely alleviating it.

Rheumatoid Arthritis provides detailed information on Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Arthritis Pain, Arthritis Treatments and more. Rheumatoid Arthritis is affiliated with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

6 Effective Tips for Back Pain Relief

Posted by jutawan akhrat Tuesday, February 9, 2010 0 comments

Nishanth Reddy

Back pain is often a sign of injury or some underlying problem related to your spine its bones, muscles, and other soft tissues. It could disrupt your work, routine, and your daily activities. It may even affect your normal lifestyle as you are unable to participate in recreational activities due to pain.

Fortunately for those who suffer from back pain, episodes of this condition do not often last long. In fact, most of episodes last from a few days to a few weeks and rarely do they last more than three months. If they do, then you are advised to consult a doctor since pain may just be a symptom of a far more serious injury or disorder.

In most cases, certain pain management methods may be used to achieve back pain relief. The treatment could range from use of nonprescription drugs to massage therapies and traditional remedies like acupuncture and yoga.

Below are some of the popular methods used for lower back pain relief:

1. Exercise

Many people believe that rest is best for a painful back, but actually, what your back really needs when it’s hurt is exercise. Regular exercise relieves back pain by strengthening and stretching the muscles that support the spine and helps to prevent future injury.

This is a use it or lose it situation: the more you rest, the weaker your back gets, even if it is hurt. If you do not know of any, you can always ask your doctor for reference. For sure the list that they will give includes swimming and walking to say the least. There are also movement therapies to develop proper posture.

To manage pain, you may do any of the following:

• Walk short distances
• Stretch and do flexibility exercises
• Use a stationary bicycle
• Swim

2. Losing Weight

Losing weight can also be a back pain relief. This is because being overweight can make the ache get worse. You also have to get your muscles in better shape and improving your postures when sitting, standing or sleeping.

Remember, if your head is not in line with your body it is like having a 15-pound weight constantly pulling you forward, which can strain the neck and shoulders. Standing and sitting with good posture create a vertical line with the body that can make you appear up to 10 pounds lighter.

3. Heating Pads and Ice Packs

Following trauma, the person should apply an ice pack or compress over the injured area. Do this for up to 20 minutes several times every day. If you still do not achieve back pain relief after two to three days of cold treatment, use a heat pack. This will help relax the muscles and increase blood flow, speeding up recovery.

4. Physical Therapy

Sometimes, rest and exercise, the most common forms of back pain treatment, may not produce the desired results. Even so, pain may still be treated without going for surgery. Manual physical therapy is a method of lower back pain treatment that uses a specialized type of physical therapy to relieve pain.

Physical therapy uses different techniques, such as ultrasound, electrical stimulation, cryotherapy, massage, exercise, and heat in order to relieve muscle spasms, increase flexibility, strengthen muscles, relieve pain, and accelerate the healing process.

5. Massage Therapy

Studies have shown that massage therapy is more effective than both chiropractic and acupuncture for relieving pain due to muscle spasms. The benefits of massage therapy include improved circulation, which helps alleviate muscle soreness; muscle relaxation, which helps muscles move without pain; and increased endorphins, the body’s natural pain relievers. You should be aware that the kind of massage you receive in a spa is not the same kind of massage used to treat back pain.

6. Water Therapy:

Hydrotherapy for back pain relieves pain by loosening the muscles and ridding the body of toxins that produce pain and inflammation. Water exercise therapy has many benefits. The buoyancy of water supports the patient’s weight, allowing a greater range of motion when the person has too much pain to exercise on land.

This makes water exercise therapy ideal for everyone who seeks relieve from back pain. Additionally, the water temperature should be warm enough to relax muscles, which also helps relieve pain. Warm baths are excellent for relieving mild backaches.

Nishanth Reddy is an author and publisher of many health related websites. Visit his website for more Information about back pain relief and treatment methods. Learn the alternative treatment methods used for back pain relief. Back Pain Relief Guide

Calcium Protects Against Cancer

Posted by jutawan akhrat 0 comments


by: Veronica

Every woman with a head on her shoulders knows about the importance of calcium for strong bones to prevent osteoporosis, a serious disease affecting older women. I myself have been a long time consumer of low-fat dairy products for this very reason (plus I love cottage cheese with almost anything). But now we have an added reason to wolf down the calcium.

New research has shown that women with higher intakes of calcium appear to have a lower risk of cancer overall, and both men and women with high calcium intakes have lower risks of colorectal cancer and other cancers of the GI system (this is from the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine).

The Institute of Medicine currently recommends 1,200 milligrams of calcium for adults age 50 and older, and the 2005 dietary guidelines for Americans recommend 3 cups per day of low-fat or fat-free dairy products. In the study, the decrease in risk for women was with intake of up to 1,300 mgs per day, after which no further risk reduction was observed. In both men and women, dairy food and calcium intakes were inversely associated with cancers of the GI and one-fifth of men who consumed the most calcium through food and supplements (about 1,530 mg per day) had a 16 percent lower risk of these types of cancer than the one-fifth who consumed the least (526 mg per day). For women, those in the top one-fifth of calcium consumption (1,881 mg per day) had a 23 percent lower risk than those in the bottom one-fifth (494 mg per day) with a most pronounced decrease for colorectal cancer. So what is it about dairy that is so protective against cancer?

Dairy is relatively high in anti-carcinogenic nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D and conjugated linoleic acid. Calcium has been shown to reduce abnormal growth and induce normal turnover among cells in the GI tract and breast and it binds to bile and fatty acids, which may reduce damage to the mucous membrane in the large intestine. So the bottom line is: even if you’re dieting, be sure to include that lowfat dairy to protect yourself against disease!

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Joint Pain Relief: An Overview

Posted by jutawan akhrat Monday, February 8, 2010 0 comments


by: Eddie Tobey

Your knees, shoulders, and elbows are all large joints. Your hands and feet contain many tiny joints. Our joints are used for almost every movement we make. Half of adults over age 65 - or more than 20 million Americans, endure recurrent or chronic joint pain, stiffness, and sometimes swelling. Joint pain can be so severe that ordinary daily activities of sufferers, such as eating a bowl of cereal or washing one�s hair, become difficult or even impossible.

For many years, treatment options for joint pain relief were limited to two types of medications: acetaminophen (Tylenol) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Both are effective treatments for mild joint pain, and the latter reduces joint inflammation too.

Recent medical studies show that sufferers themselves can greatly improve their condition through exercise. Exercise builds strength and flexibility, and toning the muscles that surround the joint helps to stabilize it. Exercise can reduce stiffness, increase blood flow, and aid in weight loss, which takes the stress off of joints. Patients should determine a safe level of exercise with their doctor, and together develop a routine individually tailored to provide the optimum benefit to the sufferer.

Heating pads, ice packs and topical creams, rubs, and sprays provide short-term joint pain relief. For persistent, chronic joint pain, injections of the steroid glucocorticoid can provide relief for about three weeks, and injections of hyaluronic acid, a substance naturally present in joints, can last up to a year.

Surgery may be necessary for patients with debilitating joint pain. Surgeons may elect to realign the joint or completely replace the damaged joint with an artificial one. Total joint replacement can bring dramatic joint pain relief for many patients.

Natural supplements such as glucosamine (derived from crustaceans� shells) and chodroitin (a part of connective tissue from cow tracheas) may help alleviate joint pain as well. Alternative treatments like supplements and acupuncture have become increasingly popular in recent years, so much so that the National Institute of Health is currently conducting research on both to determine the effect they have on joint pain relief. Results of this research may validate supporters� claims or even alter the prescribed course of treatment.

Arthritis Pain Relief provides detailed information on Pain Relief, Arthritis Pain Relief, Back Pain Relief, Joint Pain Relief and more. Arthritis Pain Relief is affiliated with Chronic Pain Management.

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