Care for your lawn and garden without hurting your joints

 

Make yardwork and gardening easier with some simple changes. When you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), it's important to find ways to carry on with daily tasks, such as gardening and lawn care. Although joint pain and stiffness may limit your mobility, arthritis doesn't have to keep you from enjoying these activities. Here are some tips to help prevent arthritis symptoms from flaring while you keep your garden growing. Go easy on your joints Work smarter to reduce strain on your joints as you care for your lawn and garden. Frequently switch from one task to another. Change tasks every 15 to 20 minutes to avoid straining the same joint for long periods. Take frequent rest breaks. Alternate difficult and easy tasks. Use your forearms or palms, not your fingers. Rest heavy pots, plants and baskets on your forearms or palms to carry them. This avoids overworking and inflaming small joints in your fingers and hands. Plan ahead to avoid walking long distances. Plan your tasks to reduce walking back and forth. Before beginning, load a garden cart with everything you'll need to get the job done. Avoid lifting bulky or large items. When possible, purchase or place compost and fertilizer in multiple, small containers instead of a single large one. Decide ahead of time if you might need a helper and recruit an assistant for all or part of the job. Next July 01, 2015 References See more In-depth   http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/in-depth/rheumatoid-arthritis-and-yardwork/art-20139363

The pain of my rheumatoid arthritis keeps me up at night. How can I reduce pain at night, so I can get some sleep?

 

Creating a comfortable sleep environment, caring for your joints before bedtime and exercising during the day can all help reduce pain and improve your sleep. Create an ideal sleep environment. Make sure your bed, pillows and blanket are comfortable. Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet. Stick to a routine. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Avoid things that can disturb your sleep. It's best to do without alcohol, caffeine, large meals and TV close to bedtime. Research has shown that the bright light of a TV can interfere with sleep. Take time to unwind. Take a warm bath or shower before bedtime to help soothe your joints and muscles. Support your limbs. Propping your arms and legs with pillows might help reduce pain throughout the night. Be physically active during the day. Exercise can help improve sleep. However, don't exercise within three hours of going to bed. If your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms prevent you from getting enough sleep, you may feel fatigued the next day. Manage your fatigue by putting off unnecessary tasks, avoiding heavy meals, and taking rest breaks or naps throughout the day. source : www.mayoclinic.org

Vaccine-style treatment for rheumatoid arthritis retrains the immune system

 

Research led by Professor Ranjeny Thomas has uncovered a promising new approach to preventing rheumatoid arthritis According to the American College of Rheumatology, more than one million US citizens suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. The disease gives rise to swelling and pain by causing the immune system to malfunction and attack healthy tissue. No cure is available, though aggressive and varied drug treatments can curb its effects. Now, success in an early clinical trial suggests that a new form of therapy could stop these symptoms taking hold by retraining the patient's immune system to ignore a peptide it normally identifies as a foreign foe. Normally, our immune cells trawl through our blood and tissue, sorting foreign matter from healthy tissue to fight off signs of infection. Rheumatoid arthritis takes effect when these immune cells incorrectly identify healthy cells as foreign and attack them instead. Rather than looking at ways to treat the effects once this chain of events has already played out, researchers from Australia's University of Queensland looked to zero in on the root cause. Led by Professor Ranjeny Thomas, the team developed a vaccine-style therapeutic approach, or immunotherapy, for people with the most common form of rheumatoid arthritis, known as CCP-positive. The treatment is designed to re-educate the body's immune system to leave certain naturally occurring peptides alone, therefore preventing inflammation. To accomplish this, immune cells known as dendritic cells are extracted from the body and mixed with an anti-inflammatory drug and a natural peptide found in arthritic joints, before being injected back into the body once again. "The dendritic cells are educators of the immune system," Thomas explains to Gizmag. "They show peptides to the immune system and the T lymphocytes (student soldiers) then get the message to either attack or do a peace-keeping mission for that peptide. When we deliver peptide and an anti-inflammatory drug to a dendritic cell, it teaches the T lymphocytes to keep the peace in that tissue, thus keeping it healthy." In its current state, the treatment is too expensive and time-consuming to see it adopted for widespread use. But Thomas says the study's results, which indicate a single injection of the immune-modified dendritic cells can help suppress the effects of rheumatoid arthritis, are promising enough to continue development of more practical versions of the therapy, such as using nanoparticles as a delivery mechanism. "We can use a nanoparticle to package the drug and the peptide," she says. "After injection, the nanoparticle finds the dendritic cells and delivers the payload to them in the body. So far this has been tested in animal models but we plan to test in RA (rheumatoid arthritis) patients in 2016." If the approach is proven successful for sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis, it could potentially be used to treat other autoimmune diseases, such as Type 1 diabetes and and multiple sclerosis. The research findings were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.   Source: University of Queensland

Category: Improving Sleep In Arthritis

 

Pain is always a big hindrance for having a good rest or an adequate sleep. Conditions such as arthritis can greatly affect sleep quality and those who do not get the right amount of sleep will most likely have ill health. How does arthritis and its symptoms affect sleep either day or night?
Arthritis is one of the many diseases out there that presents common problems when sleeping.

These problems include waking up often times at night, struggling to sleep, waking up very early in the morning, and feeling tired after waking up. Sleeping is supposed to freshen you up but if you have arthritis you will not feel that your energy has been restored. You must put in mind that if you have a ruthless sleep pattern then you are most likely suffering from these problems.

If you have sleep problems then you might be experiencing fatigue all the time and this factor alone can worsen your arthritis as well as your overall mood and concentration. Muscle tension and more pain are just some of the things you will get from lack of sleep. How can you make sleeping a wonderful experience even when you have arthritis?

There are so many thing that you can do to improvise sleep. You can start by keeping track of your sleeping habits by documenting them in a diary or notebook. Try to avoiding sleeping during the day time so that you can establish a normal or regular sleep pattern. Avoid drinking coffee in the afternoon or at night and don’t drink or eat too much before sleeping. Stay away from alcohol and do not smoke (if you are a smoker) at night or during bedtime.

Sometimes you might not realize it but your mattress or pillows are the culprit behind your sleep problems. Check if they are comfortable enough and I not then better change them with new and snug ones. Additionally, exercise is an important element for getting that sleep you need. It keeps your body well circulated. However, put in mind that you must not exercise three hours before sleeping. You can also take a warm and relaxing bath before heading to bed.

Medications can also be answers towards getting that good rest with arthritis. NSAID or non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs and painkillers like Paracetamol can help you minimize pain. Sedatives such as Zopiclone and Temazepam and anxiolytics like Alprazolam can provide quick and temporary sleep. Nonetheless, if you take these drugs you should take note of their side effects which are reasons why you cannot use the same medication for a long period.

There are also herbal supplements that can contribute to the induction of sleep. Herbal therapy used for arthritis has become popular treatment methods because of lesser side effects and are considered as safe and effective methods. With the right therapy and medication, your arthritis can be well taken cared and your pain problems can go away. Without pain anymore, you can already  have that long, quality sleep you have longed for .

Molecules involved in rheumatoid arthritis angiogenesis identified

 

May 16, 2014

University of Illinois at Chicago

Two protein molecules that fit together as lock and key seem to promote the abnormal formation of blood vessels in joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers who found that the substances are present at higher levels in the joints of patients affected by the disease. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease in which the body's own defenses attack the tissues lining the joints, causing painful swelling and bone erosion that can ultimately lead to joint deformities.

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Two protein molecules that fit together as lock and key seem to promote the abnormal formation of blood vessels in joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, who found that the substances are present at higher levels in the joints of patients affected by the disease.

Their results are reported in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

"Our results show, for the first time, that these two proteins -- a receptor and its corresponding binding protein -- play a key role in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis pathology," said Shiva Shahrara, associate professor of rheumatology at UIC.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease in which the body's own defenses attack the tissues lining the joints, causing painful swelling and bone erosion that can ultimately lead to joint deformities.

One of the hallmarks of rheumatoid arthritis is the development of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, in the joints.

"The swelling of joints is caused by the abnormal migration of a variety of different cell types into the joint," Shahrara said. "And as these cells accumulate, they need to be supplied with oxygen and nutrients, and so angiogenesis accompanies the joint swelling."

Shahrara and her colleagues knew that a protein called CCL28 was found in the body under low oxygen conditions, or hypoxia. Joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis can become hypoxic, so the researchers wanted to see if the protein and its receptor could be found in patients' affected joints.

The researchers measured the levels of the proteins in the tissues and fluid of joints from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and with osteoarthritis, the more common joint inflammation caused by physical wear and tear. Patients of both types had protein levels in their joints that were significantly higher than individuals without joint disease.

The investigators found that CCL28, which is over-produced in joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis, attracts the surface-lining cells that carry its receptor.

When the researchers added CCL28 to cells carrying the receptor, the cells organized into blood vessels. But if they chemically blocked the receptor and added CCL28, formation of blood vessels was reduced.

The finding, Shahrara said, provides "strong evidence" that the binding of CCL28 to joint-lining cells carrying its corresponding receptor is a necessary step in angiogenesis.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Illinois at Chicago. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Z. Chen, S.-J. Kim, A. B. Essani, M. V. Volin, O. M. Vila, W. Swedler, S. Arami, S. Volkov, L. V. Sardin, N. Sweiss, S. Shahrara. Characterising the expression and function of CCL28 and its corresponding receptor, CCR10, in RA pathogenesis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2014; DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204530

Why It's Hard to Stick With Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

 

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If dealing with rheumatoid arthritis is a full-time job, the treatment for RA is a task that requires painstaking attention to detail and a whole-hearted commitment to a long-term goal.
While the payoff can be huge—preventing or at least slowing down potentially disabling joint destruction—it's still hard for patients to stick with the treatment, whether it's pills, self-administered injections, or three-hour-long infusions given in a doctor's office.
Consider also that RA medications can be pricey and have side effects and that there's the psychological impact of having to undergo lifelong treatment, and you have a recipe for noncompliance—the medical term for people who don't take their medicine as directed.
"Compliance is a huge issue," confirms Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH, a rheumatologist and professor of medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. According to a 2007 study, some people with RA missed their meds between 10% and 36% of the time, depending on the drug taken. Other studies have reported noncompliance rates as high as 70%.
"I can deal with bouts of pain, but the fact that it's chronic and never going away, that's the hardest thing to deal with," says Angela Lundberg, 32, who was diagnosed at 18.
It's especially tempting to skip medication when the beneficial effects aren't obvious unless you're looking at an X-ray showing the condition's progression (or even if they are obvious). Still, research suggests that without treatment joints will deteriorate more rapidly and the journey to disability will be quicker. Hence, it's important to find ways to stay motivated.

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