Posted on 05/09/2008 5:33:02 PM PDT by neverdem
People with diagnosed diabetes are nearly twice as likely to have arthritis, and the inactivity caused by arthritis hinders the successful management of both diseases, according to a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) study released May 8 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is one of the first studies of its kind to look at the relationship between arthritis and diabetes and the outcomes associated with physical activity.
The report finds that arthritis appears to be a barrier to being physically active for people with diabetes. Despite the fact that physical activity helps control blood glucose levels and reduces joint pain, people with both diseases are more likely to be physically inactive (29.8%) compared to those with diabetes alone (20.1%).
"Arthritis is a frequent co morbid condition for adults with diabetes," said John H. Klippel, M.D., president and CEO, Arthritis Foundation. "But for both diseases, physical activity is key to effective management. A lack of physical activity actually results in undesirable consequences including increased pain, stiffness, inflammation, physical limitation and potential disability."
Arthritis is the most common cause of disability in the U.S., affecting one in every five Americans (21 percent). Diabetes affects approximately 7 percent of the American population, with nearly a third unaware that they have the disease.
"Everyone faces the same common barriers to being more physically active, such as lack of time, competing responsibilities, lack of motivation and difficulty finding an enjoyable activity," said Chad Helmick, M.D., CDC epidemiologist and co-author of the study. "Those who also have arthritis face additional disease-specific barriers, such as concerns about aggravating arthritis pain and causing further joint damage, and knowing which types and amounts of activity are safe for their joints."
The good news is that safe and effective self-management programs are available. People living with arthritis and diabetes can benefit from participating in one of the Arthritis Foundation's exercise or self-management programs, such as the Arthritis Foundation Aquatic Program, the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program and the Arthritis Foundation Self-Help Program," said Klippel.
The Importance of Taking Action
Arthritis currently limits activity for 19 million Americans, taking a $128 billion toll on the U.S. economy annually in direct [medical expenditures] and indirect [lost earnings] costs. With the aging of the Baby Boomer population, the prevalence of arthritis is expected to rise by 40 percent in the next two decades alone.
"Despite evidence of the growing need for intervention to stop the rise of this disabling disease in our population, the level of federal funding for arthritis public health and research has declined steadily by nearly $28 million over the past six years," said Klippel. "We are on the verge of a public health crisis and must take action now."
The Arthritis Foundation is working to help address this ever-growing problem through the proposal of legislation. The Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act (S. 626/H.R. 1283) proposes to strengthen arthritis public health initiatives, which would ensure that more people are diagnosed early and avoid pain and permanent disability.
Tips for Exercising with Arthritis
Controlling diabetese is tough but suffering through bad health as a result of not watching your glucose level and getting adequate excercise is much worse.
Freepmail me if you want on or off of the diabetes ping list.
My "arthritis" was CURED....with bio-identical compounded hormones....some of you may get tired of hearing my broken record about arthritis, but I believe arthritis maybe one of the most mis-diagnosed of all diseases....it's an aging thing...and when you age, you lose your hormones....and when you replace them...things return to "normal" i.e. a younger functioning level.
you probably have a systemic candida infection.
take a level teaspoon of Arm and Hammer bicarbonate of soda in a glass of water one half hour before meals.
end your candida infection and your arthritis
Lurking’
Arthritis Is A Potential Barrier To Physical Activity
I was diagnosed with ‘mild’ arthritis a few years ago. It was so ‘mild’ that I had to stop 3 times walking to the bus stop 2 blocks away because the pain was so bad. I couldn’t go from the office to our office kitchen w/o pain. I thought I was going to need a scooter.
Enter glucosamine chondroitin. In about 3 weeks I was walking better, by 6 weeks I’d forgotten I had arthritis. It made the difference to me from being immobile to being able to walk and exercise, including using a treadmill. When I have a little twinge, Tylenol takes care of it; no heavy prescription meds.
Recently I’ve gone vegan to help with the diabetes. As I look across vegan/medical sites I find a lot of people who have helped their arthritis with that diet as well. I think I had the arthritis pretty well in control before then, so I can’t tell if anything has changed for me, but I haven’t had to take any painkiller since going vegan, nor have I had to take the glucosamine. After the initial dosing, I used to have to take another series of doses about every 2 months due to recurrence of the discomfort.
Obviously, the weight loss that is coming with my dietary changes will help the arthritis as well, so I don’t see a down side.
My back has hurt for many years. Last year I went to the chiropractor to see if that would help. The preliminary exam included a spinal X-ray from a couple different vantage points. The osteoarthritis in my spine was obvious to even a casual observer. The only time I've been pain free since elementary school was during a 6 month period when my doctor put my on Beconase (corticosteroid) for my sinuses. It had an unintended sysetemic effect. It was amazing to not have pain in my back, knees and ankles. I could actually enjoy inline speed skating for a few months. When the prescription ran out, I was back to the painful mode again. It felt like being beaten with a baseball bat. I noticed it because I had enjoyed months of being pain free. That constant state of physical pain is my "normal" condition. A big 23 oz beer with 4 200 mg ibuprofen can stave it off for an hour or two. That's the royal road to a big beer belly and intestinal problems from the gluten. It's not worth the brief fix.
I’m not a senior yet, tho I certainly am middle-aged. I haven’t had any measurements done, but I do some weight bearing exercises (had to cut down due to a torn rotator cuff; I’m working my way back up).
I have always walked, and at my weight, trust me, it is load bearing, so I am keeping up enough muscle mass to do what I want to do. I’m well aware of the studies on seniors and exercise and hope that I am developing habits now that will take me into an active old age.
If what you’re worried about is protein, forget it. I get plenty of protein. Most Americans, even vegans, get more than enough protein. As a black diabetic, I only want enough protein, not a lot. Black diabetics are more prone to kidney trouble; my uncle was on dialysis for years. I want to avoid that fate by getting enough, but not excessive protein.
I was NONE of those when I developed arthritic like conditions....
Are you talking weights and if so what are you doing? Been going to the gym and I find myself feeling better when I get into the weights rather than mostly cardio which kills me (big guy).
I do some weights, but as I said, I have a torn rotator cuff, which has limited me a lot. I find it easier to walk the treadmill.
I’m a female. I just do enough weights to keep the muscles, not to be a body builder. I use the regular gym equipment, avoiding stuff that hurts my shoulder.
If you’re a big guy, why not try simple walking? Many people have lost significant weight and the only exercise they could manage was walking. If you do weights, you can build muscle, but it will be muscle under fat. You need to hit both - in addition to watching the food intake.
If you Google "Fish Oil Excercise" with "Weight loss," some interesting stuff comes up. The group that did both lost significantly more than either the fish oil alone group or excercise alone group.
I've found this to be true myself.
Wow, you sound just like me! I've been preaching the same thing for about two years now.
I went through menopause VERY quickly, and got arthritic almost overnight also. Having drawn the obvious conclusion, I immediately marched into the GYN's office and politely demanded my hormones back. He was great about it, and affirming, but seemed prohibited from offering an opinion.
So now I have a patch that I put right on my "bad spot" (the patches are plant-based also) and it's very helpful with the pain. Sometimes I also need green tea or alfalfa, but then I can move like a kid again.
Here's what I tell people, in it's simplest (dumbed down) form: "Our reproductive hormones are steroidal, and steroids are anti-inflammatory." They seem to "get" that.
Isn't it horrifying to see so many people in SO much unnecessary misery? I'm aghast at how simple this is.
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