Painkillers no substitute for self-help; research charity tells arthritis patients
PEOPLE with the most common form of arthritis are being told to stop relying on painkillers and to take control of their condition by a leading medical research charity.
Five million people in the UK have osteoarthritis - one of the single biggest causes of disability. And it has been proven that those people who know the most about their condition have less pain and can cope better than those who don't try to help themselves.
Now The Arthritis and Rheumatism Council is launching a campaign urging osteoarthritis sufferers to be positive, not passive, in a bid to help them feel more in control of their condition - and their lives.
The charity's Education Week (January 4-10), backed by the UK's leading specialist rheumatologists, aims to encourage self-help as a vital part of managing the often crippling disease.
"It's been shown that an increase in patient knowledge reduces pain among people with osteoarthritis, improves the outcome, and gives long-term benefit," said consultant rheumatologist Professor Michael Doherty.
"There is a great deal that people can do to improve the health of their joints, and taking control of the arthritis, and not letting it control you doesn't just mean depending on your GP, rheumatologist or pharmacist to keep you supplied with painkilling tablets," he added. "Once patients understand more about OA, they realise that most of the management is down to them."
The charity suggests a number of self-help tips:
- Avoid stress, learn how to relax, try to remain positive, and find out as much as you can about OA. Ask for help, from your GP, rheumatologist, or the ARC.
- Put the affected joint - and the muscles surrounding it - through a series of exercises at least twice a day. Seek advice from a physiotherapist.
- If you're overweight - lose it, through a combination of diet and exercise. Excessive weight puts too much strain on the joints.
- Keep generally fit by whatever means you enjoy - swimming and brisk walking are particularly good - but pace yourself and don't overdo it.
- Eat healthily. Although there is no medical evidence to show that specific food can affect OA, it makes sense to eat a balanced diet, combined with a healthy lifestyle.
- Wear sensible shoes with thick soft soles and no raised heel, to prevent undue stresses on feet, knees and hips.
Osteoarthritis is by far the most common form of arthritis. Most people develop it in at least some joints as they get older, and in retirement as many as one in four people develop knee symptoms, with one in ten developing hip symptoms, caused by OA.
Although in some patients OA does progress, and can sometime result in joint replacement, in many cases the arthritis stays the same, or even gets a little better.
OA used to be commonly regarded as a "wear and tear" condition, and inevitable part of the ageing process. Recent research, however, has shown that some people may be genetically disposed to developing the condition, or that lifestyle factors might come into play.
The Arthritis and Rheumatism Council is a leading medical research charity dedicated to finding the cause and cure of arthritis and all forms of rheumatic disease. Last year it raised more than £20m for research.
- The ARC is publishing a new booklet on Osteoarthritis to coincide with Education Week. It is available free to the public, (enclose a 9x6 SAE) from ARC, St Mary's Gate, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 7TD.
