Just Plane Stiff

by Linda J. Brown

Posted 2/17/07

Stiff, achy joints and muscles can be felt by anyone who sits through a long airline flight, but especially by those who have arthritis.

"You have to keep moving to keep your joints from getting stiff and painful," says Marilyn Moffat, PhD, professor of physical therapy at New York University. Moffat, who advises walking the aisles as much as possible during flights, developed the following simple moves, each repeated five to 10 times, for the American Physical Therapy Association.

Heel raises. Sit with feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Lift heels off floor, hold for five to 10 seconds and lower heels to the ground.

Ankle circles. While sitting, lift right leg slightly off the ground and circle your foot clockwise. Circle 15 times clockwise and 15 times counterclockwise. Repeat with the left foot.

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ASG-SLC Next meeting & Summer Vacation 2007 (no meetings)

The next Arthritis Support Group of South Lake County meeting will take place May 4th, Friday, at 12-1:30PM, located in the National Training Center/ Education Department on the South Lake Hospital campus in Clermont. Elizabeth Morse, MDiv, Spiritual Care Coordinator at South Lake Hospital, will be giving a presentation on “Relaxation and Guided Imagery”. She is licensed as a Guided Imagery specialist and is very knowledgeable about reducing chronic pain thru relaxation. Come join us and maybe leave with LESS pain! Bring a friend, sweater and snack. Fee: FREE. Brochures, pamphlets and literature are available during the meeting.

We will not meet during the summer (June, July & August) and resume our monthly support group meetings starting again on September 7th, Friday with Dr. Kenneth Stark, Rheumatologist, as our special guest speaker.

For more information call Meg King (352) 243-2098.

Omega-3s Revealed

Researchers have long known omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation. Now they know how.

by Linda RichardsPosted 2/12/07

Understanding how your body benefits from eating omega-3 fatty acids is an important part of understanding why you should eat them. But, until recently, no one really knew what made omega-3s so beneficial. Researchers, however, have uncovered the secret of omega-3 fatty acids. A study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston revealed that omega-3s actually convert into compounds that are 10,000 times more potent than the original fatty acids themselves. So what does this mean to us? The new compounds include resolvins, which help bring the inflammatory response to an end, says the study’s lead researcher, Charles Serhan, PhD, director, Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury at Harvard Medical School, Boston. Continue reading ...

New Drug for Arthritis?

New drug for arthritis?: Merck seeking FDA approval for Arcoxia, a chemical relative of Vioxx, which was linked to heart attacks

Kathleen Kerr, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Mar. 21, 2007 -- In a bid to recapture a piece of the arthritis pain-relief market, Merck & Co. is seeking government approval for Arcoxia, a chemical relative of Vioxx, the drug pulled off drugstore shelves in 2004 after being linked to heart attacks.

In its last full year on the market, Vioxx brought in about $2.5billion in sales. If the Food and Drug Administration approves Arcoxia, Merck could recoup some of those sales.

On April 12 an FDA advisory panel will consider approval of Arcoxia for osteoarthritis; it is already sold in 62 other countries. The FDA usually follows advisory panel recommendations. Continue reading ...

FDA Whistle Blower Blasts New Arthritis Drug

FDA whistle-blower Graham blasts new Merck arthritis drug

Updated 9/12/2006 9:51 PM ET

By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY / Health & Behavior

The arthritis drug that Merck has developed to compete with Celebrex may be as risky for the heart as Vioxx, writes Food and Drug Administration whistle-blower David Graham in an editorial posted online Tuesday by a medical journal.

In considering whether Arcoxia should be approved, "the FDA, academia, and the medical research enterprise are once again faced with the opportunity to forsake common sense by willfully accepting misdirection and disinformation presented in the guise of science," Graham writes on the Journal of the American Medical Association's website. Continue reading ...

Massage May Help Knee Osteoarthritis

Less Knee Pain and Stiffness Seen With Swedish Massage in Preliminary Study By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
on Monday, December 11, 2006

Can A Massage Improve Your Health?

Dec. 11, 2006 -- Knees hurt? Massage may cut the pain and improve function if you have knee osteoarthritisosteoarthritis, a new study shows.

Massage therapy "seems to be a viable option" as an addition to other treatments for osteoarthritis of the knee, write the researchers.

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