MO Arthritis

Regional Arthritis Centers

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.

Wear Red Tomorrow - Feb. 3

Don't forget!

Tomorrow, Friday, February 3, 2012 is Wear Red Day.  Wearing red tomorrow can help raise awareness of heart disease, specifically women's heart disease.  It also can inspire conversation with friends, family and coworkers about the importance of knowing the warning signs as well as what to do if they come across someone who is showing signs of a heart attack or stroke.

Check back in tomorrow, on Wear Red Day, for information and education about this important health topic.

Does Cold Weather Impact Arthritis?

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!

Explaining Arthritis to Others

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!

Wonder Drug for Chronic Conditions?

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.

Arthritis Pain Reliever

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/