From the May, 2012 Issue
Don't Delay Periodic Bone-Health Analysis
Most experts recommend osteoporosis screening with bone-density scans for all women age 65 and older, but the ideal interval for follow-up testing remains unclear. A study published in January in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) suggests that older women with normal bone density or mild osteopenia (low bone mass) on an initial screening can safely wait up to about 17 years to have their next bone-density test. But the study has several limitations, a Cleveland Clinic expert points out, and the findings don’t necessarily apply to you. “You shouldn’t assume that everyone with mild osteopenia can wait 17 years,” says Chad Deal, MD, head of the Center for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease at Cleveland Clinic. “You have to individualize.”
Current Issue
Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked with Other Health Risks
“The chronic inflammation seen in RA may be partially responsible for the increased atherosclerosis that may lead to heart disease and stroke,” says Matthew Bunyard, MD, a rheumatology specialist at Cleveland Clinic. “There is also evidence that some anti-inflammatory medications—steroids and nonsteroid anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs)—may contribute to the process.” Rheumatoid arthritis patients can do several things to decrease their risk of heart disease and stroke. “The first is to modify the known risk factors,” says Dr. Bunyard. “This includes stopping smoking, lowering your cholesterol, and controlling diabetes and hypertension. Exercise and weight loss can be beneficial. Attempting to avoid or lower the dosages of anti-inflammatory medications can often be helpful.
Get a Grip on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
There’s a misconception that carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) affects only those who spend hours at a keyboard. Truth is, CTS ranks among the most common hand and wrist problems in orthopaedics, and just about anyone who uses their hands can develop it. “I see carpal tunnel syndrome in every component of the population,” says William Seitz, MD, a Cleveland Clinic orthopaedic surgeon. “It’s a very common problem, and there’s a wide spectrum of degrees of symptoms.” Longstanding CTS can lead to sensory and motor dysfunction in the hand, but early diagnosis and treatment can halt this process, relieve symptoms, and help you maintain good hand function.
5 Elbow Exercises to Prevent, Relieve Forearm Pain
Every time you lift a fork or cup or type at the keyboard, you bend your elbow. And each time you turn a key or grip a hammer, you flex forearm muscles that connect to your elbow by way of tendons. Keeping these elbow-wrist connectors flexible and ready for use should be a daily goal if you want to reduce the pain that can come from excessive, repetitive use of your forearm muscles and tendons, whether on the tennis court, raking leaves, or turning a screwdriver.
Arthritis? You Can Still Be Functional and Fashionable
Not along ago, people with arthritis could buy clothing products that were either functional or fashionable. Now they can have both. “Arthritis can present clothing challenges, but there are plenty of options available,” says Michelle Wilson, OT/L, an occupational therapist at Cleveland Clinic. “Among them are Velcro fasteners, hooks or snaps made to look like fasteners, magnetic snaps, zipper rings, fabric pull loops, large kimono-like arm holes, front closing bras, and side-buttoned pants. “But elastic is what I see most often,” adds Wilson. “Elastic waistbands, elastic thread to sew buttons, even elastic shoe laces.”
Knee Replacement May Lead to Longer Life
Patients with severe osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee who undergo knee replacement have a seven-year mortality rate that is half that of those who don’t have the procedure. Researchers at Exponent, a medical consulting firm in San Francisco, looked at a 5 percent sample of patients insured by Medicare to identify those with OA of the knee. They divided patients into those who did not undergo total knee arthroplasty (80,629) and those who did (53,829) from 1997 to 2009. They then examined the patients’ data for up to seven years to compare their health statistics.
Ask The Doctors: May 2012
The term arthritis refers to the symptom of inflammation of one or more joints, and there are over 100 types of arthritis. In general, early signs of arthritis are swelling, warmth, redness of the skin overlying a joint, pain, and restriction of motion. The early symptoms of arthritis are often very slight and gradually increase in intensity over the course of many years. At first, early symptoms might produce pain or stiffness only after strenuous work or exercise, but these early arthritis symptoms can deteriorate to constant and chronic pain. With rheumatoid or other inflammatory arthritis, joint involvement tends to be symmetrical, occurring in the same joints on both sides of the body. Although pain and stiffness can be brought on by a minor injury or overuse, these usually abate with rest and recuperation.
