Arthritis: How to Stay Active and Relieve Your Pain

440 Pages·2007·2.79 MB·English

by  Barbara Stokes

ARTHRITIS
How to Stay Active and
Relieve Your Pain
Barbara Stokes and
Antoine Helewa
BULL PUBLISHING COMPANY
BOULDER, COLORADO
Arthritis: How to Stay Active and Relieve Your Pain
Copyright © 2007 Bull Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any
form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher.
Bull Publishing Company
P.O. Box 1377
Boulder, Colorado 80306
[phone] Fax [phone]
www.bullpub.com
ISBN: 1-933503-03-3
Manufactured in the United States of America
Publisher: James Bull
Editor: Erin Mulligan
Production/Interior Design: Dianne Nelson, Shadow Canyon Graphics
Illustrations: Publication Services
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stokes, Barbara.
Arthritis: how to stay active and relieve your pain / by
Barbara Stokes and Antoine Helewa.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-933503-03-3
1. Arthritis—Popular works. I. Helewa, Antoine. II. Title.
RC933.S785 2007
616.7’22—dc22
2007036516
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
PART I
Finding Out About Arthritis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1
What Is Arthritis and What Can I Expect from This Book? . . . . 3
Chapter 2
What Are Joints and How Do They Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 3
Is Arthritis One Disease or Several? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 4
Where Can I Go For Help?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter 5
How Can Scientific Research Help Me Make Choices? . . . . . . 101
Chapter 6
How Can Arthritis Medications Help Me?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
iii
iv CONTENTS
Chapter 7
How Can I Manage My Arthritis Pain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 8
How Can I Stay Well and Prevent Disability? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Chapter 9
Why Should I Exercise?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
PART 2
Getting Healthy and Staying Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Chapter 10
Keeping Joints Mobile and Flexible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Chapter 11
Building and Maintaining Your Muscle Strength. . . . . . . . . . . 237
Chapter 12
Improving Fitness and Endurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Chapter 13
Protecting Joints and Conserving Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Chapter 14
Adjusting to the Emotional Impact of Arthritis. . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Chapter 15
Enjoying Happy and Healthy Intimate Relationships. . . . . . . 327
CONTENTS v
Chapter 16
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Chapter 17
Exploring Options for Joint Surgery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Chapter 18
Exercising Caution About Cures and Testimonials . . . . . . . . . 381
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
This book is dedicated to our families and to the
many people we have known who live with arthritis
and from whom we have learned so much.
Barbara Stokes and Antoine Helewa
Preface
Writingaself-helpbookforindividualswitharthritisisachal-
lenging endeavor. When we decided to write this book, we
knewthatmanyotherbookshadbeenwrittencoveringoneaspect
or another of arthritis care. But we felt there was still no single
comprehensive book that focused on the incredibly complex vari-
ety of physical and psychosocial problems facing arthritis sufferers
while also presenting scientifically sound, practical advice that
would provide a measure of relief from these problems. So we set
out to write a book with a simple goal in mind—to help people
addressthedailychallengesthatindividualswitharthritisfaceand
offer them solutions that are achievable and self-directed and that
can result in a vastly improved quality of life.
In addition to its comprehensive coverage of a wide range of
simple and practical treatment choices, our book is unique in that
it presents the scientific evidence to support these treatments. In
recent years we have seen a marked growth in all fields of arthritis
research resulting in scientifically-proven fresh approaches to dis-
ease assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. In this book we do our
best to explain, in everyday language, what these scientific
achievements are and how they can benefit individuals with
arthritis. We believe that presenting the scientific basis for treat-
ment options equips people to make the best informed choices
about their own arthritis care.
vii
viii PREFACE
What We Cover
The word “arthritis” has become a generic term covering the 100
different forms of disease that primarily affect joints and their
related structures. Many of these distinct disease entities share
commonsymptomsandmethodsoftreatment.Becauseofthis,we
focus on those diseases that are most common and share symp-
toms and treatment approaches rather than cover each disease
entity separately. For example, rheumatoid arthritis, a common and
debilitating form of arthritis, shares characteristics and treatment
approaches with juvenile chronic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and sys-
temic lupus erythematosis. Since the similarities among some dis-
eases are greater than the disparities, we have grouped related
forms of arthritis together. We hope that this will make the book
equally useful to people with a wide array of diagnoses.
Our Organization
This book is divided into two parts. Part 1 explains what arthritis
is, discusses its impact on the individual (and society); describes
how human joints do their job; lists the common forms of arthri-
tis; and provides information about community resources for indi-
viduals with arthritis. Other chapters in Part 1 cover scientific
research (and how it informs treatment choices); detail the impor-
tance of arthritis medications in controlling the disease process;
and address the issues of arthritis pain management, wellness, and
disability prevention with a special emphasis on the great impor-
tance of physical exercise in arthritis treatment.
Part 2 of the book offers specific advice on how individuals can
self-manage their arthritis. The first three chapters cover exercise,
building on the foundation established in Part 1. The benefits of