Greetings,

So I found this and thought, wow, can you believe that the best way to overcome arthritis is good old fashioned “diet and exercise”, who would have thought…

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry…

You might remember that Debbie and I used to own a health club, I guess they should’ve called to interview one of us, huh?

So let me see if we got this right, instead of having surgery, we should exercise and loose weight?

Remember that the New York Times is the –

how do they put it, “the paper of record…” so now it may start to catch on!

All the best,

Lou & Debbie

'Magic' arthritis treatment may be old-fashioned diet and exercise

THE NEW YORK TIMES EXPLORES ARTHRITIS TREATMENTS THAT CAN BE DONE AT HOME

What's the best treatment for osteoarthritis? Many patients are seeking out surgery, but simply losing weight and wearing the right shoes may offer more of a benefit, according to the New York Times "Well" blog.

Nearly 27 million U.S. residents currently live with life-limiting osteoarthritis, and they are "relying more and more heavily on surgery," according to David Felson, a rheumatologist and epidemiologist at Boston University School of Medicine. While Felson endorsed the benefits of hip replacement surgery, he told the Times that knee replacements can be significantly less helpful. Knee replacement surgery rose 800% among U.S. residents 65 and older between 1979 and 2002, but up to one-third of patients will never experience an improvement, according to Felson.

Though many patients turn to surgery to relieve pain, Felson says old-fashioned diet and exercise may have the same effect:

•   Weight loss combined with a well-design exercise program significantly reduced the pain of 450 men and women with osteoarthritis, according to a Wake Forest University trial;

•   Exercises that strengthen quadriceps, like leg presses, wall squats, and mini squats, can restore and preserve a range of motion, according to arthritis prevention expert Glen Johnson;

•   Wearing specially designed wedge-shape shoes may help take stress off arthritic knees and hips, according to the Times;

•   Bracing an arthritic knee can help, too—according to Felson—because an unloader brace can shift stress away from the damaged part of the joint; and

•   Eating foods rich in vitamin K, like broccoli, kale, and cabbage may benefit joints.

The severity of pain is directly "correlated with the degree of muscle weakness," Felson wrote in an article published in NEJM (Brody, Well,  New York Times, 7/9).