Exercise
Phone counselling reduces pain and disability after surgery
A short series of phone conversations with trained counsellors can substantially boost recovery and reduce pain after people have back surgery, experts report in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
A total of 122 people aged 46–72 years who had surgery to correct spinal stenosis (degeneration of the spinal bones and painful compression of the spinal cord) were split into groups. Everyone was prescribed either home exercise programmes or physiotherapy. About half also received a series of phone counselling sessions from a trained spinal surgery counsellor to discuss the importance of exercise in their recovery. Continue reading
Sangram Singh… from childhood arthritis to international wrestler
Best known for his success in the wrestling arena, Sangram Singh had a difficult start in life due to a diagnosis of arthritis as a child. He shares his story exclusively with Iona Walton from Arthritis Digest magazine
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when just three years old and unfortunately did not respond well to medication. Back then in India there were fewer facilities for physiotherapy so it was a hard time and I spent eight years in a wheelchair. Continue reading
Mary Moeller talks fibromyalgia, spondyloarthritis, seronegative arthritis – and YOGA
Mary lives with her husband in Encinitas, a coastal beach city in California
My mother, sister and brother had rheumatoid arthritis so when I started experiencing terrible knee pain in my forties I was preparing myself for a diagnosis. When it didn’t show up in tests, I was surprised and relieved. But in 2007, when I was just 47 years old, I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis, and two years later, spondyloarthritis, fibromyalgia and seronegative arthritis followed.
I had both knees replaced in 2009 and had to retire in 2010. I take a whole range of medication, supplements and multivitamins. I’m asthmatic so inhalers are part of the picture too.
Although I took yoga classes in high school and college, I had fallen out of the habit of going. Continue reading
UK local authorities missing the health needs of people with arthritis and back pain
Many communities are being failed by local authorities in England, says a report from Arthritis Research UK, which highlights that 26% of local authorities did not mention arthritis in their Joint Strategic Needs Assessments. And 62% of local authorities missed back pain in their assessment of the health needs of the communities that they serve. Continue reading
Women who exercise most may be the least likely to have rheumatoid arthritis, experts claim
Taking physical exercise can help women reduce their risk of rheumatoid arthritis says a large study from Sweden published in Arthritis Research and Therapy. Continue reading
