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Learn to Prevent Arthritis, Not Just Live With It |
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by Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D. and Martin Zucker
Learn to Prevent Arthritis,
Not Just Live With It
Many people think of arthritis as a
nuisance that causes some pain and
discomfort but that can usually be
eliminated with a pill or joint replacement and
puts you right back on track again. You’re misguided
if you think that way.
During 50 years as a pain specialist, and
having treated more than 150,000 patients, I
have seen arthritis ruin many lives. The reality
is that no condition impairs the quality of life
as we age—and to a greater extent—than does
arthritis. It erodes basic functions and prevents
a person from taking part in elementary and
cherished activities, leads to inactivity and
other health problems and can rob you of
longevity as well.
Unfortunately the solutions offered by the
medical profession are much less than ideal
and often cause additional problems. For
instance, when individuals have to rely continually
on painkillers, they often put themselves
at risk for developing serious side effects.
Over the years I have treated thousands of
patients with osteoarthritis, the aging human’s
most common affliction. Osteoarthritis
involves deterioration of joint cartilage, the
rubbery tissue at the ends of bones that allows
for smooth movement and shock-absorption.
When cartilage erodes, due to a variety of risk
factors, the frequent result is pain, loss of
motion, and in many cases, even disability and
dependence on others.
Health officials predict an epidemic of
osteoarthritis within two decades as the baby
boomer generation ages. “As the leading edge
of the baby boom generation enters the prime
years for arthritis,” the Arthritis Foundation
has warned, “a quantum leap will take place as
the number of people affected surges and the
impact on individuals and the nation’s health
grows dramatically.”
With an anxious eye on a medical crisis
ahead, health officials have created a National
Arthritis Action Plan with a goal of delaying
the onset of pain and disability among
individuals by 10 years and extending a more vigorous, vital life. Research indicates this is
possible.
On a personal level I know this is possible,
learned from my pain practice. I have seen
many patients stay free of arthritic symptoms
well into their seventies and eighties by following a good lifestyle. In numerous other
cases, I have helped arthritic patients substantially
minimize pain or prevent it from getting
worse.
My positive experience with patients over
the years inspired me to write Preventing
Arthritis: A Holistic Approach to Life Without
Pain. This is the first major book that offers a
comprehensive program to minimize the
chances of developing painful, debilitating
arthritis. My purpose was to warn people not
to take arthritis lightly and to offer ideas for
preventing it. “An ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure,” the old saying goes,
but with arthritis, there is no cure. Once
you’ve got it, you’ve got it, and you have to deal
with it. That makes every ounce of prevention
worth a ton. Preventing Arthritis is my attempt
to help people meet and even exceed the
declared goal of the National Arthritis Action
Plan.
There is much you can do to protect and
fortify yourself.
Many of the physiological changes leading
to osteoarthritis are not clearly understood yet
by medical science. So prevention is an effort
in which you take aim at the risk factors that
contribute to joint damage. In this book, I arm
readers with the guidelines to do so, the very
same advice I share with my patients.
The practical information includes the following
points:
- Reduce repetitive strain on muscles and
joints. Be alert for any chronic aches and
strains caused by work, hobby or recreationrelated
activities. Don’t ignore the signs and wait for them to worsen. If you suspect that
your job causes symptoms, for instance, you
may need to rotate your task or modify your
office chair or work station, or even find an
alternative activity. Repetitive strain can create
microtrauma to joints and adjacent soft tissue
and lead to osteoarthritis in later years.
- Squatting, heavy physical labor, occupational
knee bending and a history of regular
sports participation that can cause abnormal
wear and tear of the knee joints are risk factors
for knee arthritis. Repetitive or forceful
motions performed with the hands can contribute
to osteoarthritis. Even long hours at the
computer can strain and perhaps prematurely
age your hands.
- At the first sign of chronic strain or pain,
see a physician.
- Exercise (but don’t abuse) your joints. A
sedentary lifestyle makes for weak muscles and
increases the odds of developing arthritis (and
other health problems). Regular exercise is
essential. It creates stronger and more flexible
joints. Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous,
just regular.
- Consider a cross-training program that
includes a variety of exercises and light weight
training. The use of weights builds more
denser bones and strengthens the muscles, ligaments
and tendons associated with joints.
- Feed your joints right. Overweight
and obese individuals are at greater risk for
osteoarthritis, particularly in the weight-bearing
joints. Losing weight cuts the risk.
- Improving the diet is always a tough challenge
in our time-strapped society. However, the
more you can maximize your intake of whole
foods and minimize the refined, packaged foods,
the better off you and your joints will be.
- In Preventing Arthritis, I offer readers a
simple dietary plan that has worked for many of
my patients over the years. The information
includes some timeless tips on how to eat (not
just what to eat) that can result in additional
weight loss.
- Supplement your joints. Poor food choices,
environmental chemicals, excess stress, and
the use of alcohol, oral contraceptives and medication
contribute to widespread nutrient deficiencies
in our modern society. Research shows
that certain nutrients are vital for joint health.
They can protect the joints and minimize or
delay arthritic symptoms. Such supplements
include vitamins C and D, boron, glucosamine,
chondroitin sulfate, and MSM. The book offers
readers an arthritis supplement prevention plan.
- Water your joints. Water makes up 70
percent of the cartilage in joints and plays a
major role in the lubrication and shock absorbing
properties of healthy joints. Dehydration
may be a major underlying, and unrecognized,
factor in degeneration and pain. Don’t substitute
sodas, coffee and tea for water. These beverages
contain ingredients that may block the absorption
of water or act like diuretics, that is, promote
excretion of fluids from the body. Drink
lots of good quality water everyday.
- Yoga for flexible joints. The book offers an
arthritis prevention yoga program—a selection
of simple yoga postures do-able in fewer than
five minutes a day. These poses can increase
muscle tone and the flexibility and range of
motion of joints. Research indicates that yoga
generates beneficial mechanical pressures on
joints.
- The bottom line: Become an antiarthritis warrior.
For years doctors have been spreading the
message of cardiovascular prevention—how to
protect our hearts and blood vessels. But little
has been said about protecting our joints. We
need to develop “joint awareness.” Studies
show that disability due to arthritis can lead to
debilitating inactivity that in turn can increase
the risk of cardiovascular disease. Become an
“antiarthritis warrior” and incorporate as many
joint-friendly strategies as possible into your
lifestyle. In doing so, you’ll be helping not only
your joints but the rest of your body as well.
Neurologist Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D., is a renowned expert in the field of pain,
geriatrics and sports medicine. He is a founding member of the International Association for
the Study of Pain, a senior member of the American Academy of Neurology, and founding president
of the American Medical Athletic Association. He has served on the National Institute of
Aging’s National Advisory Council on Aging, as well as cochairman of Sports Medicine of the
Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, and medical consultant to the President’s Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Health writer Martin Zucker, a former Associated Press newsman, has written extensively
on natural healing, nutrition, fitness, and alternative medicine for more than twenty years.
Lawrence and Zucker are coauthors of Preventing Arthritis: A Holistic Approach to Life
Without Pain (hardcover June 2001, Putnam, New York; paperback, Berkeley Books, June
2002). In 1999 they co-authored The Miracle of MSM: The Natural Solution for Pain (Putnam).
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