Get Your Arthritis Workout In While Traveling

Finding the energy and time to work out is tough enough when you’re not traveling, so it’s no surprise that exercise can go off the rails when you’re on the road. With some planning, you can fit it into any trip, says Brian Housle, an exercise physiologist and fitness director at Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, North Carolina. Here’s how. Book the Right Hotel Choose one with a gym or pool. If there’s no space for swimming, walk in the shallow end. “Water’s resistance offers an extra challenge for your muscles while protecting your joints,” says Housle. Do Your Research You ...more

Arthritis Patients Help to Select Scientific Projects That Show Promise Towards Finding a Cure for Arthritis

Earlier this year, we awarded funding to six scientists for projects submitted that show remarkable innovations and steps towards finding a cure for arthritis and related diseases. For the first time, we included patient input in selecting the projects that showed the most promise and meant the most to them. Incorporating the patient voice is a vital component of all our projects and initiatives. Having patients weigh in this year on something so critical as our Delivery on Discovery scientific awards signifies just how seriously we take patient input. “Including patient input as part of the selection process was a new milestone ...more

Which Temperature Is Best for Your Water Workout?

Exercising in a pool is one of the best things you can do to aid your mobility and boost your fitness. “You can do things in the pool you simply can’t do on land. That’s especially true if you have balance difficulties or joint issues,” says Bruce E. Becker, MD, a clinical professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. The buoyancy of water allows greater range of motion, while its resistance enhances cardiac and muscle fitness. But what’s the ideal temperature for a wet workout? Follow these guidelines for temperatures that work best for water exercise. Below 83 Degrees It ...more

Gardening with Arthritis: Tips for Preventing Joint Pain

Gardening can be a pain-free hobby for people living with arthritis—all you need is a little planning and creativity. A few shortcuts and adaptations can make gardening possible for anyone, says Heidi Sibert, a landscape architect at James Martin Associates in Chicago. Sibert, who has psoriatic arthritis, is a passionate proponent of a horticultural approach called enabling gardens. Enabling gardens, which are used by many doctors as a form of physical, mental and social therapy, are specifically designed to be accessible to people with specific needs and limitations. They key for people with arthritis is to keep your garden within easy reach. With ...more

Fighting the Fatigue of RA

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) don’t stop at joint pain and swelling. Most people with RA also experience mental and physical exhaustion, a symptom known as fatigue. Studies show that up to 80% of people with RA have at least some sense of feeling run down, and more than 50% have high levels of fatigue. Terence Starz, MD, a rheumatologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says the feeling can be described as overwhelming or different from just being tired because it is extreme and seems to come from nowhere. In fact, fatigue may have a greater impact on daily ...more

Two New Sets of Guidelines for Preventing and Treating Osteoporosis

Two different medical groups have separately released recommendations for patients who have osteoporosis – or are at high risk of developing it – outlining the best evidence-based treatment practices to prevent and manage the disease. Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones lose mass and become thin and brittle, increasing the risk of a fracture. Often, osteoporosis is a result of aging and the hormonal changes that accompany it. But it also can be a result of disease (including rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis) or the use of certain medications, including corticosteroids (also called glucocorticoids). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ...more

Salute JA Warriors During Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month

July may be best known for watching fireworks, eating ice cream and splashing in the pool. But it’s also the month when we recognize that one out of every 250 kids in the United States lives with some form of juvenile arthritis (JA). Yes, July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, dedicated to making everyone aware that kids get arthritis, too – and a reminder that, while a lot of progress has been made in treating it, there’s still a lot more to do to get to the bottom of this painful and debilitating disorder. So this month, help spread awareness about the ...more

Exercise Plus Diet Equals Weight Loss

Exercise can be a powerful balm for many of the things that ail us, including depression, bone loss, fatigue, heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. But if a goal of exercise is to lose weight, you’ll increase your chances of success by changing your diet. Modifying your diet – specifically controlling your portions – makes a bigger difference for weight loss than exercise alone, research shows. In a 2012 study comparing diet and exercise for weight loss, postmenopausal women who changed their diet alone lost an average of 7.2 kilograms (almost 16 pounds) over the course of the 12-month study, while those ...more

Five Things to Know About the JA Conference

As we prepare for the 2017 National Juvenile Arthritis Conferences, here are five things to know from our Conference Chair, Katy Carter, if you’re getting ready to join us this summer! Calling All JA Warriors! With the theme of the 2017 JA Conference being JA Warriors, we want to know how YOU are #StrongerThanJA! We are JA Warriors. Every day, we deal with the challenges of juvenile arthritis.  While our situations are unique, we’re in this together. Bold, brave and bright. Battling whatever gets in our way and celebrating our victories. As JA Warriors, we stick together, determined to win the fight ...more

Winterhoff Arthritis Scholarship Goes National – Eight 2017 Recipients Announced

Champion of Yes has come to mean different things to different people. To many, it means refusing to let arthritis win – to stand up, push back and say, “Enough is enough. I won’t let arthritis stop me or anyone else from living life to its fullest!” In recent blog entries, you might have read about some folks who embody the Champion of Yes spirit. People like Alex Jakobson who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and in doing so raised more than $7,000 to support our mission. Or maybe you read about Graci Diggs, an 11-year-old kid who lobbied and testified before the ...more