Guest guest Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 http://health./search/healthnews?lb=s & p=id%3A64913 Arthritic Joints Stand Up to Intensive Exercise November 3, 2004 11:54:56 AM PST , Reuters Long-term high-intensity exercise does not accelerate the progression of joint damage in the hands and feet of people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a Dutch report. Exercise known to benefit arthritis patients, increasing their physical capacity, functional ability, and emotional, the researchers explain in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. However, little is known about the effects of exercise on damage to the small joints of the hands and feet. Dr. Z. de Jong from Leiden University Medical Center and colleagues studied a total of 309 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were divided randomly into a high-intensity exercise group or a regular physical exercise. After two years, 136 participants in the high-intensity and 145 in the control exercise group were still in the trial. At that point, the number of damaged joints in the hands and feet increased in both groups and did not differ between them, the team reports. For those who did experience a rapid increase in damage to these joints, three factors seemed to be key -- worse existing damage before the study started, higher disease activity during the study, and decreases rather than increases in aerobic fitness, the researchers note. " This is the first time that improvement in aerobic fitness has been shown to predict, independently of other factors, a decrease in the rate of local bone damage, " they point out. In conclusion, " We provide evidence that participation in a long-term high-intensity weight-bearing exercise program comprising improvement in aerobic fitness and impact-generating activities does not increase the rate of radiological joint damage of the hands and feet in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, " the team writes. " On the contrary, it seems that these exercises have a protective effect for the joints of the feet, " they say. " I think the next step will be to see how safe these exercises are for people with prostheses and/or extensive damage to the large weight-bearing joints, " de Jong told Reuters Health. " Also, the effectiveness of cheaper alternatives like (partly) home-based training will be explored. " His advice to doctors who care for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: " Do not be afraid to advise your patients to exercises vigorously! Trust that they are able to do it. " SOURCE: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, November 2004. http://www.mercola.com/2004/nov/20/exercise.htm Those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are continually plagued with pain due to the swelling and destruction of their joints. However, research has indicated that exercise may be a reliable treatment for this inflammatory condition. Although little has been discovered on the influence exercise has on the small joints of the hands and feet, it is well known that exercise benefits: * Physical and emotional capacity * Functional ability In a study, researchers divided more than 300 RA patients into two separate groups: a high-intensity exercise group and a regular exercise group. Both groups showed an increase in the number of damaged joints in their hands and feet. Three factors were evident among the patients who experienced the pain increase. These factors included: * Worse existing damage than others before the trial began * Higher disease activity during the study * A decrease in aerobic fitness Based on the study, researchers concluded that RA patients who engage in a long-term high-intensity weight-bearing exercise program, which involves aerobic fitness, did not increase the rate of joint damage in their hands and feet. In fact, researchers claim such exercises could provide a protective effect of the joints on the feet. Future research will be conducted to see if these exercises are safe for patients with prostheses and/or extensive damage to the large weight-bearing joints. In the meantime, doctors are encouraged to recommend rigorous exercise to patients with RA. Dr. Mercola's Comment: This article serves as another example of how exercise is incredibly beneficial to your health. In addition to using exercise to treat RA, there are a number of other NATURAL tools I highly recommend adopting. Most of the patients I see suffer from " ED. " That is not short for Erectile Dysfunction, but my term for Exercise Deficiency or Exercise Debt. Most of the two-thirds of the country who are overweight and tens of millions of others with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, desperately need more exercise to control their underlying condition. There simply is not much of a stronger tool to drop your insulin levels than exercise and elevated insulin levels are one of the primary drivers for these types of illnesses. Exercise really needs to be viewed as a drug and very few clinicians or patients understand this. I believe it is one of the most powerful " drugs " that we have in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Unlike typical commercial drugs, exercise can actually cause one to go into permanent remission for diabetes. Most of the patients I see have a serious exercise debt and if they only walk for 30 minutes a few times a week they will never repay the principal on their debt. If they wish to optimize their health they need to do move towards about 90 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every day. This amount of exercise is only required in the treatment phase though and they can cut back to 45 minutes three times a week once they become healthy My personal form of exercise is running and earlier this week I wrote a post on why I enjoy running. Most people are also time-deprived so I ask them to stop directing their limited time to strength training until they are able to optimize their weight. If they have time left over after investing 90 minutes in a cardio program then I encourage them to continue their weight training program. Additionally, most people are clueless about the exercise intensity and just don't understand that walking for 90 minutes isn't a sufficiently intense exercise. I explain to my patients that they need to go hard enough so that they are having a difficult time talking to someone and then drop back half a notch. If one can easily carry on a conversation with someone next to them they are clearly going to slow to generate the aerobic benefits that exercise is capable of doing. One of the key principles I teach though is to listen to your body. If your body will not allow you to exercise either due to pain or worsening of your underlying condition then you have no practical option but to honor your body's signals and not exercise. Even though your body desperately needs the exercise to improve, you will only get worse if you violate your current limitations. So you may have to start with as little as one or two minutes a day. Apply the Total Health Program and as your body gradually improves so will your tolerance to exercise tolerance, so continue to push yourself until you reach the daily 90 minute level. Once at 90 minutes a day you will need to push the intensity so you are going hard enough so that it is difficult to carry on a conversation with someone standing next to you. If you can easily talk to someone you simply are not going hard enough to give your body the benefits it needs. You do not need to monitor your heart rate to measure this intensity and that makes it much easier to do. I fine the energy psychology tool Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT an enormously powerful tool in helping people exercise. EFT is a form of psychological acupuncture treatment I recommend in order to optimize your emotional health. It can help you remove the blocks that prevent you from successfully implementing your program. You can learn the technique with my free manual and discover more about the connection between your emotional well-being and your overall health. EFT is also one of the most powerful tools I know of to help people repair the bioelectrical short circuiting that impairs a person's immune system and makes them susceptible to developing rheumatoid arthritis, or for that matter any other autoimmune disease. I find it an essential tool in helping our patients recover from these diseases. Also, seek assistance in learning the concepts of EFT through my EFT Series on DVD or VHS. Another great tool in treating RA is to become familiar with your metabolic type. Individualizing your diet with metabolic typing principles is an absolutely amazing way to improve the results of treating RA, as it is an autoimmune disease, which means it is thought to occur when the body's immune system turns against itself. That is why it is extremely important to take care of your body and make sure you are eating the right foods according to my plan. You can learn your specific type now by taking my free on-line metabolic type test. Last, and certainly NOT least, is to treat RA by incorporating an optimized nutrition plan into your life. This not only involves the restriction of foods that impair the immune system (like sugar and grains), but also adding high levels of omega-3 fats into your diet. These fats, like DHA and EPA can be found in fish and cod liver oil. Compared to natural methods, the treatment of RA with drugs, surgery or both are clearly inferior options. Folks, if you or someone you know has this potentially devastating disease, please seek a form of treatment that addresses the underlying cause. Failure to treat the disease could condemn a person to a lifetime of misery, as much of the damage of RA is irreversible once it has occurred. Once the joints are destroyed there is no way to bring them back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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