Arthritis Foundation's 2009 Women's Health Summit

I wanted to take a moment write about a first time experience I had on multiple levels. My father, Matt and myself were recently asked to give a presentation on the importance of exercise with arthritis for the Arthritis Foundation's 2009 Women's Health Summit. There were multiple speakers in different rooms with various background ranging from the Chief of Geriatrics at a nationally ranked hospital to the nutritional advice presented by an RD.

As I mentioned, this was my first of many: this was my first public presentation for GCMC, this was my first time speaking in front of an elderly population, this was my first time working with the Arthritis foundation, this was my first time presenting along side MD's and DO's, and this was my first time bring our message of "Life is Movement" to a larger, non-athletic audience. And for all of those reasons I was slightly nervous. We have conveyed our ideas to many types of athletes with great reception; however, I have never tried to communicate our message to those indifferent to exercise.

I thought that my biggest problem would be my message being lost in translation to an indifferent crowd, but the real challenge wound up being much more primitive. When given the choice of which presentation to attend, the vast majority was more interested in attending a lecture on which medication they could use to manage the pain then to listen to about how maintaining a quality of life is two-sided contract. As health professionals at a movement center, our end of the contract is to get them moving again and their end is to actually take responsibility for their health and not to accept a defeatist mentality. What I found was that people are much more inclined to wave the white flag then to fight for their quality of life.

It is sort of ironic in a way, I did include in my presentation how nearly a third of those with arthritis live completely sedentary lives. I knew that the problem was a misconception that movement was the problem and that exercise would only hurt them, when in fact even Harvard has recently published that one to two hours of moderate exercise can prevent pain from osteoarthritis all together.

So I guess that my point is we have more of an up hill battle than I expected. The good news is that those that chose to listen to our presentation were very receptive to our concepts. They very much understood what I said and felt that we understood their battles. Now what is left is for us to really push the concept of exercising to reduce or eliminate pain. We have lived in a sick care nation for a very long time. We have conditioned the aging population to accept defeat: loss of hearing, loss of memory, loss of vision, loss of balance, loss of strength, loss of driving, ect. It is time to take the focus away from pain and towards performance.

At GCMC we acknowledge that everyone has a goal and desired level of performance. That can mean you want to run an ultra-marathon or that could mean you want to walk pain-free around the mall. The point is we are all training for something and that, at the very least, we are training for life.

The Exercise Experience in Adults with Arthritis

This October 3rd I will be representing GCMC, along with my father and Matt, at the Women's Health Summit for the Arthritis Foundation. The topic we will be presenting is the importance of exercise with Arthritis. It almost would seem counter-intuitive that someone with a degenerative or inflamed joint should be moving that joint freely, but it is in fact true. And not just true, but imperative. The subject touched me and I feel it is important to help shed light on the facts.

Studies have shown that despite the importance of exercise, 31% of those with arthritis live completely sedentary lives. Those that were athletic before the arthritis tend to remain active after the diagnoses. They seem to have better handle on how to exercise and how to modify an exercise due to pain. However, those that were not athletic to begin with tend to be fearful of exercise, especially if they attempt exercise and experience an copeless amount of pain.

There are over 100 types of arthritis, the most common being osteoarthritis followed by rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis (OA)is the leading cause of disability, affecting more than 22 million adults in the United States. There is no cure; however, there is a lot you can do to slow down the progression and manage the pain. I have a busy class and work schedule, so in the interest of time I will list the evidence supporting exercise and provide a link to the Arthritis Foundation for further information on how to be healthy with arthritis. Besides, the journals could not be any more to the point.

Harvard's Women's Health Watch stated that regular exercise strengthens muscles and improves flexibility and balance. It not only eases pain and stiffness but improves overall health. New research suggests that older women may be able to prevent OA pain by getting as little as one to two hours of moderately intense exercise per week.

The American Journal of Health and Behavior stated that, "regular exercise by people with arthritis delays disability; improves physical function; improves quality of life, mental health, aerobic capacity and muscle strength; promotes functional independence; and reduces pain." (Am J Health Behav. 2006;30(6):731-744)


The Journal of Rheumatology printed, "it is now established that well-designed physical exercise programs promote prolonged improvements without inducing harmful effects on disease activity and joint damage” Rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and physical exercise: a systematic review." (Rheumatology 2008;47:239-248)

Archives of Internal Medicine stated that, “Aerobic and resistance exercise may reduce the incidence of ADL disability in older persons with knee OA. Our study suggests that a physical exercise program may be an effective strategy for increasing the active life expectancy of older adults.”(Arch Intern Med. 2001 (161). 2309-2316)

Link for Arthritis Foundation