Arthritis Advisor

Ask Dr. Marks: 09/03

Subscribers Only I’ve heard a lot about pain patches recently. Are they effective, addictive, expensive? Pain patches are very effective at delivering narcotic pain relievers. The patches are placed on an area of clean skin and produce a narcotic concentration gradient that transports the narcotic through the skin into the blood stream. The narcotic, usually Fentanyl, is released over a period of three days instead of the few hours of pain relief achieved by pills. …

Tai Chi: Go With The Flow

Subscribers Only Tai chi, a martial art that has been practiced in China for more than 600 years, has been shown to embolden its practitioners in another kind of war—the battle against arthritis. In its less strenuous forms, tai chi exercises the body, mind and spirit by gently working muscles and improving the flow of qi (pronounced “chi”), the life energy that is said to sustain health and calm the mind. With its focus on breathing and…

Chronic Neck Pain?

Subscribers Only Your neck moves more than 600 times an hour, awake or asleep. In fact, no other part of the musculoskeletal system is in such constant motion. Small wonder neck pain—caused by abnormalities in the muscles, ligaments and nerves, as well as in the bones and joints of the spine—plagues so many people. Add degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis to the mix and you have a recipe for chronic neck pain. …

Dress Without Fuss

Subscribers Only Another day, another dilemma—how to get dressed when you’re racked with arthritis pain, particularly in the morning when joints Although your own creativity can be a big help in fashioning self-help devices for eating, housekeeping, or for just getting around (the American College of Rheumatology’s self-help guide, Sharing Innovations, describes ideas from people who suffer from arthritis, www.rheumatology.org), dressing aids are another matter—you pretty much have to rely on already proven products to get you…

Osteoporosis: Men Can Get It Too

Subscribers Only Osteoporosis (porous bone) is a disease in which the density and quality of your bones diminishes, rendering them fragile and more likely to break. Though it is most commonly associated with women—who are four times more likely than men to develop the disease—it is a major threat for an estimated 44 million American men and women. In the U.S. today, more than 10 million individuals have osteoporosis and nearly 34 million more are estimated to…

In the News: 09/03

Subscribers Only Finally, A Cure For RA? Latest results from trials involving tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors infliximab (Remicade) and etanercept (Enbrel), when used in combination with methotrexate, have rheumotologists talking about the possibility of a cure for rheumatoid arthritis. In one trial, in which infliximab was used with methotrexate to treat patients with early RA, nearly a third of the subjects went into remission. Another trial, conducted with patients with more established RA and using etanercept in…

Online Pharmacies: Buyer Beware

Subscribers Only With the price of prescription drugs climbing more than 16 percent a year, it’s little wonder consumers are looking for new ways to save money on medications, including hunting for better deals on the Internet. But in the world of online pharmacies, where regulations are hard to enforce, telling the difference between a legitimate online company that sells brand-name medications, and a questionable outfit that might be selling contaminated, counterfeit or outdated drugs, is not…