The seven Regional Arthritis Centers (RACs) are part of a statewide network run by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Service’s Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program (MAOP). For Missouri Arthritis Program information, click here. Click on the map to go directly to each RAC's web page.
Health professionals generally agree that patients with arthritis tend to feel more aches and pains during winter, or colder seasons. However, there is little or no scientific proof that colder weather itself is what impacts our joints. Many believe it is instead the reaction of our bodies to the colder weather and what we do or do not do which has the greater impact on our joints. In the article "Dealing with arthritis in cold weather", the Vice President of Mission Delivery for the New Jersey Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, Peggy Lotkowictz, identifies shivering, tightening up of muscles, and reduction of physical activity as three reasons why people's joints stiffen up in winter times.
Many people with arthritis would disagree with the notion that cold weather does not directly impact their joints, and there has been much discussion about correlations between the weather and arthritis (see WebMD article on the subject). Regardless of which opinion you believe, perhaps the greatest suggestion for pain reduction any day (rainy, sunny, cold, etc.) is to make sure you are still being physically active. Local malls, schools, and community centers are great options for moving about indoors when the weather is not ideal. Community programs, including Walk With Ease and the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, are also great ways to keep a routine schedule for being physically active, regardless of the weather!
If you have arthritis, or you know someone does, you may often think about how to explain what it means to have arthritis. In an article entitled "Arthritis: When the Knees and Hips Go", author Deepak Chopra helps put the chronic condition of arthritis into real terms. He also includes a discussion on several ways to relieve symptoms associated with arthritis; these include:
Weight Loss (association with Obesity)
Physical Therapy
Yoga
Diet
Heat/Cold
Topical Medications
Supplements
Injections
Are there other methods you use to relieve symptoms of arthritis? Any recommendations for how to explain what arthritis is to others? Feel free to post in our comments section under the article!
Health based researchers are constantly looking for the next big thing; the "wonder drug" that will help relieve pain and improve your health. Well, it looks like many researchers have hit on the same concept, which may turn out to be the biggest "wonder drug" for individuals with chronic conditions. Exercise. Good, old-fashioned movement may be the "drug" needed to jump start pain relief and improvement of health. Even better, "taking" exercise before chronic conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, anxiety, heart disease, and depression, appear can help reduce your health risk. For arthritis specifically, physical activity can help relieve pain in stiff joints.
This is not a new concept though. Physical activity has been promoted by health organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Arthritis Foundation for years. And, for the past year, the Arthritis Foundation has been promoting that "Moving is the best medicine" through their media campaign with the Ad Council. Click on the video below or here:
To learn more of the Arthritis Foundation's recommendations for how to reduce pain associated with arthritis, check out the website www.fightarthritispain.org. To read more about the lifetime's worth of benefits from exercise, take a look at this article from the Charlotte Observer. And, to take another step toward improving your health, sign up for a physical activity or self-management class here in Missouri; you can view our list of classes and contact information on our website, www.moarthritis.org.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new video describing a proven way of relieving arthritis pain - physical activity. It is recommended that adults should get moderate physical activity 5 days a week for 30 minutes each day. You can even exercise in increments as few as 10 minutes at a time. Physical Activity can help you take control of your arthritis and improve your health! Watch the video below, or at http://cdc.gov/CDCTV/ArthritisPain/
Do you or does someone you know have one of the more than 100 forms of arthritis? Consider self-enrollment into the Arthritis Internet Registry (AIR), a tool developed by the Arthritis Foundation in partnership with the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases and Quest Diagnostics. This databank can assist researchers with understanding arthritic conditions as well as to develop potential treatments for arthritic conditions. It also is hoped to eventually be used as a community development tool to connect individuals who have various forms of arthritis on a personal level.
Arthritis resources are available throughout Missouri. Whether you're a patient, family member or volunteer, this site will help you understand and locate those resources.
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