New hope for arthritis sufferers in lifestyle change

Chuck the magnets

exercise and diet can do more for pain

Life After 50

Liz Craig-Nelson often awoke in the morning wondering how she could climb out of bed.

A year later, the fortysomething woman with arthritis had experienced a dramatic shift. She climbed to the top of Mount Washington, New England's highest peak.

Her turn-around came with a program of daily at-home exercise and nutrition she began while a participant in Tufts University research on people with arthritis. The study's goal was to test whether arthritis sufferers could follow a program designed to build strength and reduce pain.

"That's exactly what we saw," says Miriam Nelson, one of three researchers who led the study. "The exercises develop muscle strength, which is really important because stronger muscles will act as shock absorbers."

Participants in the study showed a 71 percent improvement in strength, reduced individual pain by 43 percent and improved physical function by 44 percent. Along with that, findings documented a lifting of depression -- common in people with chronic pain -- and improved self-esteem.

Detailed in Nelson's new book, Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis (Putnam, 2002; $25.95 hardcover), the program teaches lifestyle changes that study participants say bring results in two to three weeks.

The study's program of exercise and nutrition is groundbreaking because it is simple and can be done at home, says Nelson, a nutritionist and physiologist. While earlier research documented the benefits of strength training, this is the first adapted to a daily exercise plan. The Tufts study, which involved 46 people and continued for four years, enabled pairing that with a diet plan.

The book illustrates a range of exercises and details a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables that provides menus in three variations -- vegetarian, fish-only and fish-plus-meat options. The diet and supplements are geared to ease joint inflammation and can help shed excess weight, which can make arthritis worse.

The diet emphasizes using omega 3 fats, a category of fats primarily found in flaxseed oil and proven to reduce inflammation. Nelson's book was written on the heels of the study, published in medical journals.

As increasing numbers of the huge baby-boom generation move into their 40s and 50s, arthritis is becoming a more prevalent disease. It affects 43 million Americans in its two forms, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Statistics show that joint pain, along with back pain, is the No. 2 reason -- right after colds and flu -- that people visit doctors. Some try other methods, too, in search of relief.

"A lot of people are grabbing for the holy grail," Nelson says. "Like copper bracelets, magnets and gin-soaked raisins."

Those are listed among "sham therapies" in her book, which suggests there is no magic treatment. But the book recommends such complementary therapies as chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga and tai chi as potentially helpful for patients.

The book stresses that its exercise and nutrition program must be coupled with regular medical care. It also addresses joint-replacement surgeries and lists medications, benefits and side effects.

Medications have improved and produce far fewer side effects than in the past, particularly drugs that treat rheumatoid arthritis, Nelson says. She points out that some people in her study have experienced enough relief to cut their medication dosages, switch to less potent drugs or eliminate them.

That result is hopeful, she says. "Until recently, people with arthritis thought they were relegated to a life of just medications."

Nelson and her book offer encouragement for arthritis sufferers who might like to try its exercise and nutrition program but can't shut off the defeatist tapes that play in their heads.

"I think some people don't like exercise," Nelson says. "They think they can't do it. They believe they're too far gone."

Newcomers can start the program with 10 to 15 minutes of exercise three times a week. The payoff comes when they get stronger, are in less pain and can move more easily as a result. They'll feel better both physically and emotionally.

"As soon as the pain is reduced, people love it," she says. "They discover they don't have to live with the pain. There's so much people can do that is tested and tried. They just have to take the first step."