Juvenile Arthritis
Exercise in childhood may reduce future fracture risk
People who exercise every day when children could enjoy a reduced risk of fragility fractures when they are adults, suggest a new study.
A team from Sweden assessed 362 girls and 446 boys aged 7 years to 9 years, who did 40 minutes of exercise every day at school. They followed them for 6 years and compared them to 780 girls and 807 boys who exercised for 60 minutes a week at school.
The rate of fractures during the study period was similar for both groups. But the children who exercised daily had greater increases in spinal bone mineral density than the less active group. Continue reading
Exercise in fibromyalgia
Scientists examined the effects of exercise on levels of tiredness in lean, overweight and obese people with fibromyalgia and published their findings in Arthritis Research and Therapy. A total of 48 people with fibromyalgia exercised for 15 weeks. Nine were lean, 26 overweight and 13 obese.
Exercise reduced tiredness in the entire study group but the effect was achieved earlier in lean patients.
Quality of life must become a priority
Musculoskeletal conditions are the second greatest cause of disability in the world, outlines a report in The Lancet. And they are believed to have the fourth greatest impact on the overall health of the world population, up by 45% in the last 20 years.
Health policy-makers tend to focus on diseases with high mortality rates over those that affect quality of life. Charities such as Arthritis Care say this must change: Continue reading
Home walking is the way forward
A home-based walking programme for people with lower back pain has been found to be as effective as a programme within a clinical situation, suggests a new study.
Researchers assessed 52 people with lower back pain to determine their levels of pain, feelings of disability, tendency to avoid daily activities and muscle and walking endurance. One group took part in a clinic-based muscle strengthening programme (two or three weekly exercise sessions for six weeks). The other group completed a six-week walking programme (20 minutes of walking on two or three days each week, increasing to 40 minutes per session). Continue reading
Cherries could reduce arthritis
Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is known to reduce the risk for several chronic inflammatory diseases. Research published in the Journal of Nutrition looked at the impact when men and women supplemented their diets with Bing sweet cherries for 28 days. The scientists measured markers in the blood before, during and after the study and found that some markers for several chronic inflammatory diseases were decreased and one anti-inflammatory marker increased.
The results imply that eating cherries potentially reduces inflammation, risk of arthritis, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Continue reading
