Fighting pain of inflammation
Mix of meds, proper diet and exercise can alleviate arthritis symptomsBy Jimmy Mincin, jmincin@altoonamirror.com
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Fact Box
Number of Americans with arthritis or chronic joint symptoms:
n 1985 - 35 million
n 1990 - 37.9 million
n 1998 - nearly 43 million (1 in 6 people)
n 2006 - 46 million (nearly 1 in 5 adults)
n Arthritis is one of the most prevalent chronic health problems and the nation's leading cause of disability among Ameri-cans older than age 15.
n Arthritis is second only to heart disease as a cause of work disability.
n Arthritis limits everyday activities such as walking, dressing and bathing for more than 7 million Americans.
n Arthritis results in 39 million physician visits and more than a half million hospitalizations.
n Costs to the U.S. economy total $128 billion annually.
Facts about arthritis
n Arthritis affects people in all age groups, including nearly 300,000 children.
n Baby boomers are now at prime risk. More than half those affected are younger than age 65.
n Half of those Americans with arthritis don't think anything can be done to help them.
n Arthritis refers to more than 100 different diseases that affect areas in or around joints.
n Arthritis strikes women more often than men.
Source: Arthritis Foundation, www. arthritis.org
Arthritis is a chronic disease, but it can be controlled.
Early diagnosis and appropriate management of the disease, including exercise and following a proper medication regimen, can help people manage pain, improve function, stay productive and lower health care costs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Watching your weight and regular doctor and rheumatologist checkups also can help keep its symptoms, such as pain and swelling, in check.
"A lot of people just sit out there and suffer, thinking there's nothing they can do - and that's just not true. There's a lot that can be done, and help is available," said Dr. Alan Kivitz, rheumatologist at Altoona Arthritis and Osteoporo-sis Center.
Arthritis is a condition of joint inflammation resulting from infections, metabolic or constitutional causes, Kivitz said. There are 100 different types, with osteoarthritis (degeneration of joint bone and cartilage) and rheumatoid arthritis (characterized by pain, stiffness, inflammation, swelling and sometimes destruction of joints) being the most commonly diagnosed form in the United States. The most commonly affected areas are the knees, hips, spine and hands.
Kivitz cited aquatic physical therapy as the best way for arthritic patients to improve balance, coordination and agility, as well as gait, flexibility and endur-ance capacity. He added that any type of exercise that keeps the body moving can be beneficial. But water has to be a minimum of 84 degrees Fahrenheit, he said, and sessions should be supervised by a licensed physical therapist.
"If you're comfortable in the water, you'll concentrate more on exercise than how cold the water is," he said.
Arthritis also is the most common cause of disability in the United States, affecting 46 million Americans, said Douglas Knepp, executive director of the Arthritis Foundation Central Pennsylvania Chapter in Harrisburg. That includes 300,000 children - a number expected to rise to 67 million a year by 2030. In Pennsylvania there are two million adults with some form of arthritis and 11,500 children (younger than 18) affected by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
"I think it's a big misconception that (arthritis) is an old person's disease," Knepp said. "But the fact is, children and young adults can get it, too."
Knepp added the foundation offers free literature on all 100 types of arthritis, as well as information on local programs and services with trained instructors.
"We want people to use the foundation as a resource," he said.
Helen Hanlon of Altoona was 51 when she found out she had arthritis.
"It was just all of a sudden - literally, overnight - and it just got worse and worse," Hanlon, 78, said. "I tried to get out of bed one morning to go to work and I couldn't walk. Later that day, I told my doctor, 'I think I have polio.' He said, 'Helen, you don't have polio - you have arthritis.'"
Technically, she had psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory condition that can affect the joints of those with a chronic skin condition called psoriasis.
"I've had skin problems all my life," she said. "When doctors told me I could get arthritis from psoriasis, I said, 'That's ridiculous.'"
It was through extensive blood tests and X-rays that doctors were able to determine the cause of what Hanlon described as "severe swelling and pain ... mostly in my wrists and hands." When her pain and swelling became severe, her medical doctor referred her to a rheumatologist, she said, adding her current medications range from a chemotherapy drug to pain medicine and steroidal cream for her psoriasis. Today, she walks with a cane, but she hasn't let her arthritis claim her mobility.
''It hasn't affected my driving,'' she said. ''I'm out and about almost every day.''
But Hanlon's arthritic experience is not limited to the psoriatic variety. She also has osteoarthritis in her pelvis and osteoporosis.
"I've lost three or four inches in height in the last 15 years due to nine compressed fractures in my spine," she said. "I can still do physical things like running the sweeper, but within an hour I have to quit."
She takes prescribed pain medication as needed for her osteoarthritis and a bone-building drug for her osteoporosis, she said. When it comes to climate, she'll take anything but humidity.
"Humid days are tired and achey days," she said.
She also advises arthritic patients to use a heating pad as needed, and to always maintain an exercise program, even if it's just doing arm and leg stretches from the living room couch.
"You have keep yourself moving and never give up," she said. "There will always be a treatment out there for you. And if it's not out there now, it's in the making."
Mirror Staff Writer Jimmy Mincin is at 946-7460.
For your information
Helen Hanlon conducts a monthly arthritis and osteoporosis support group meeting at 6 p.m. the first Monday of every month in the front conference room of HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital. The next meeting is at 6 p.m. Sept. 8 due to the Labor Day holiday. No meetings are held in July and August. For more information, call 943-7411.
Visit the Arthritis Foundation Pennsylvania Chapter at www.arthritis.org
