A Blog About Arthritis Pain Relief

Treating gum disease can help alleviate arthritis.

Although the autopsy has ruled out suicide from the list of potential causes, it is still important to examine some reasons why people may have thought it was suicide that killed David Carradine.

Millions of people from all walks of life have suffered from the pains of arthritis. Luckily, there are many resources that reach out to offer some relief and let them know they are not alone. We hope that influential people will continue to show their support in raising arthritis awareness, as it is the most common cause of disability in the United States.

Celebrities are not that different from us. In fact, they suffer from the same debilitating diseases that us common folks do! Take for instance, Paula Abdul, who has been battling with chronic pain for 25 years.

Since this week has been about government money, here is one more piece of story about the lack of funding for arthritis research; this is where we need the public to step in to help shaping government policies.

Thanks to Senator Arlen Specter’s lobbying, the National Institute of Health (NIH) will receive an additional $10 billion dollars in funding over the next 2 years as the result of the stimulus package.

The purpose of the $787 billion dollar stimulus package is to create more jobs. Eventually, there will be more spending money for people to try health and wellness regimens, such as taking tai-chi or trying joint pain supplements and other programs to control their arthritis pain.

A study, published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, found that people who used chondroitin sulfate over two years lost less joint space — with few showing an increase in joint space width — and had less pain than those on a placebo. The decrease of pain was most significant in the first year the participants took the drug.

Progressive deterioration of the cartilage is the hallmark of osteoarthritis. A team of scientists, led by the Scripps Research Institute, recently identified a protein on the surface of joint cartilage that declines with age, leading to the progressive erosion of the cartilage.