Arthritis Diet Power Shopping: Bread and Pasta

Research has shown that eating a lot of refined carbohydrates, especially white flour and having a low-fiber diet increases inflammation. Getting 25g or more of fiber in your diet may also reduce the risk of colon and other cancers, lower cholesterol and possibly help regulate blood sugar. Stocking up on whole-grains products are good for overall health as they naturally have plenty of vitamin B-6, vitamin E, magnesium, folic acid, copper, zinc, and manganese. And studies also show that people who eat three or more servings of whole grains a day lower their risk of heart disease. Because high-fiber foods ...more

Spring into Home Repairs With These Handy Tricks

Spring cleaning often brings to attention those small repairs that you’ve been meaning to get around to. Stuck drawers, clogged drains, torn window screens – small household repairs can be an ordeal if you have painful hands from arthritis and a shortage of tools. But they don’t have to be. Nancy Ryan, an occupational therapist in New York City, suggests these simple shortcuts for doing common jobs with less pain and effort and with items you probably have on hand. JOB: Sharpen Scissors Stack and fold several sheets of aluminum foil together, then make several cuts with the scissors and they’ll be ...more

TAKE CARE: Advocacy Blog Series

Accumulator Adjustment Programs We’re excited to present a new advocacy blog series meant to help you take care when it comes to important arthritis health care and coverage issues. Over the next two months, we’ll post a blog every other week to help patients like you know what access issues we are watching and what you can do about them. This week we’ll tell you about a new policy many pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are using called accumulator adjustment programs, which could especially impact people in high deductible health plans. Read on to learn more about these programs and why they ...more

Anna Legassie: Still in the Race

The doctor’s prognosis was gloomy. “You should put your daughter in a wheelchair now, so she can adapt to being disabled,” he told Anna Legassie’s mother. Anna, 11 at the time, had just been diagnosed with systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (SJRA, known today as systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis). Now 34, Anna recalls those words often. Like on that hot summer day in 2015 when she crossed the finish line of her first Spartan Race, a grueling five-mile dash that involved climbing walls, crawling through mud and overcoming other obstacles. A fitting metaphor for a woman who hasn’t let the challenges of ...more

Growing Up with JA Camp

In 1989, eight-year-old Gina Yocum attended Camp MASH in Wisconsin for the first time. She had so much fun at JA Camp that she went back the next summer – and then 28 more after that. For the first 10 years, Gina attended camp as a camper; this June will be her 20th year as a staff member. A Priceless Experience When Gina made her first venture to Camp MASH (Make Arthritis Stop Hurting), it was one of just a handful of JA Camps nationwide. Today, JA camps in 25 states serve kids coast to coast. Arthritis Foundation JA camps are sponsored ...more

You Said It: Making Laundry Easier

Laundry is a chore for anyone, but when your hands are stiff and swollen, it can be especially hard. We asked our readers and followers “How do you make doing laundry easier with arthritis?” Here are their answers. By spacing it out. I only wash a load or two a day. –Anne Rowell, Shreveport, Louisiana I bought new pegs for drying clothes that I can open with my hands, instead of just my fingers. –Amber Marsh, Albany, Western Australia It’s a family effort! I wash, my husband folds, and my kids put it all away. –Laura Izett via Facebook I don’t let it pile up. –Sally Holt via ...more

Funding Juvenile Research Coordinators Across the County

The Arthritis Foundation is funding a new program to help support the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) and the CARRA Registry (registry). Eight sites were selected to receive funding to support the salary of a dedicated registry research coordinator for one year. Until now, some sites have been short-handed for this important research position. Researchers collect information through studies on many pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases over time and store it in the registry.  Research coordinators play a critical role in making sure research studies run smoothly. Those supported by this program will: Explain the registry to patients and ...more

Practical Advice for a Difficult Time

One of the most challenging times in life is dealing with the loss of a spouse or partner.  You must not only deal with the sorrow and grief of your loss, but also attend to many details and decisions that need to be made. The Arthritis Foundation has a resource guide called When the Time Comes (WTTC) to help both prior to and during this difficult time. Many couples engage in the annual habit of reviewing their finances and important documents.  This annual “checkup” should include but not be limited to your estate plan, insurance policies, bank accounts, professional ...more

Psoriatic Arthritis Research Briefs: Nail Changes, New Biologic, Biosimilar

Keep up-to-date on the latest psoriatic arthritis (PsA) research with our brief research summaries. Nail Changes May Indi­cate Psoriatic Arthritis Certain nail features can help doc­tors distinguish between psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and possibly lead to earlier or improved treatment for PsA, a new study suggests. In the analysis of 1,092 patients with either PsA or psoriasis only, researchers found that nail changes were more common among those with PsA than psoriasis only. Transverse (side-to-side) grooves, splinter hemorrhages (small broken blood vessels under the nails) and onycholysis (separation of the nail from the nail bed) were associated with arthritis. Transverse grooves were ...more

Meditation for Arthritis Made Easy

Meditation may relieve arthritis pain, help you sleep better and even lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, research shows. But the idea of sitting cross-legged for an hour or so keeps many people from even trying. You can add a little quiet time to your life without fuss. Meditation comes in many forms. In studies, as little as 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation for just three consecutive days helped ease pain and anxiety. Meditation can lower your heart rate and blood pressure while decreasing cortisol and adrenaline levels. It can help you regulate your emotions and relax, says Dan Muller, MD, a ...more