New pain relief remedies for achy joints

The number of people with arthritis is increasing, as are the ways to provide help. Botox injections and quad strengthening, anyone?

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Dec. 11, 2006.

Washington -- Pain relief can be just a few lost pounds away for people with arthritis of the knee -- the most common site for this very common affliction, said researchers at a mid-November gathering of rheumatologists in Washington, D.C.

People with stiff, achy knees can find relief if they shed as little as 15 pounds, according to findings from the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center in Baltimore.

What's more, the reduction in pain apparently motivated 30 trial participants to keep most of the weight off when researchers checked back in a year, said Project Director Steffany Haaz, a doctoral candidate at Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health and a dancer with an interest in movement and health. Haaz presented the findings last month at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/Assn. of Rheumatology Health Professionals.

For every five pounds lost, Haaz said, patients experienced an improvement in quality of life.

With the aging population of boomers facing the double whammy of increasing obesity and joint pain, any additional ammunition to convince patients that less is more when it comes to weight is a very good thing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of Americans with arthritis or chronic joint symptoms has been creeping up over the years. In 1985 the tally was 35 million, in 1998 it was nearly 43 million and, in 2006, it hit 46 million. So it's no surprise that arthritis takes a huge toll on the nation's health, nor is it a shock that providing all patients risk-free relief from pain has proven elusive. But advances in understanding the disease and in helping patients in surprising ways were in evidence at the meeting.