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Living with arthritis isn’t easy, help is available
Tuesday August 5 2008 Suffering from arthritis? Arthritis causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling.  It can affect the cartilage in joints causing pain with each movement.
Cartilage is a very tough, shock absorbing material that covers the ends of our bones forming a smooth surface so the bones in our joints glide easily during motion.
Arthritis causes the cartilage to wear away damaging the protective lining, triggering painful bone-on-bone rubbing. Without treatment sufferers can become inactive and could lead to loss of joint motion.
Arthritis can affect you at any age. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) most commonly occurs among adults between the ages of 20 and 45. Arthritis patients need to see themselves as key stakeholders in their battle against this potentially lifelong disorder.
“Education should be a key component of your treatment plan,” says Tiffany Larsen, physiotherapist and advanced clinician practitioner in arthritis care, Headwaters Health Care Centre.
“People who are well informed and participate actively in their own care tend to experience less pain and require fewer visits to their doctor.”
For some arthritis sufferers the symptoms are tolerable with anti-rheumatic medications and lifestyle adjustments. For others the experience is life changing.
Think you have arthritis?
Early treatment can often mean less joint damage and less pain. If you have pain, stiffness or swelling in or around a joint for more than two weeks, visit your doctor for diagnosis.
Your doctor may recommend a combination of treatments that may include medication, weight management, diet, exercise, use of heat or cold, and methods to protect your joints from further damage. Staying close to your recommended weight also helps relieve damaging pressure on hips and knees.
If you find your medication is causing unacceptable side effects or it isn’t working as well as you’d like, ask your doctor about a different treatment.
In the past two years, the FDA has approved several drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and other arthritis-related diseases.

Headwaters’ Early Inflammatory Arthritis Clinic
At Headwaters Health Care Centre’s Early Inflammatory Arthritis Clinic, physiotherapists trained as advanced clinician practitioners in arthritis care screen patients including ordering blood work and X-rays, prior to their being seen by a rheumatologist.
Shortening wait times helps osteoarthritis and recently diagnosed patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receive care faster to reduce pain, restore function and improve their quality of life.
“Through Headwaters’ program we have seen a significant decrease in pain and an improvement in the patient’s function,” Larsen says.
“Early detection of rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic and potentially disabling disease, gives patients the support and knowledge to manage their symptoms.”
Working with a multidisciplinary health care team the arthritis patient learns how to manage their illness and reduce the impact of their symptoms on daily living.

For more information about arthritis contact the Canadian Arthritis Patient’s Alliance (CAPA) at 416-979-7228 or Ontario Arthritis at 1-800-321-1433, www.arthritis.ca.

North Peel Media Group Newspapers: The Brampton Guardian Caledon Enterprise Independent & Free Press Orangeville Banner