Ground Up Strength

What's a "Sausage Finger"?

Many types of arthritis can cause a sausage digit. The technical term for this is "dactylitis."

This is not the kind of sausage you would have with your eggs and pancakes.

Sausage digits are typically seen in conditions such as psoriatic arthritis (the arthritis that accompanies psoriasis), Reiter's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and occasionally ankylosing spondylitis. Of these, psoriatic arthritis is probably the most common culprit. Dactylitis means inflammation of an entire finger or whole toe.

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Taking Aspirin Plus an Arthritis Medicine? Big Risk!

There is a correlation of aging with the development of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the medical indication for which NSAIDS are mostly taken by older adults.

At the same time this population group is the one that is most prone to be at risk for cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke.

As a result, many of these patients are also prescribed low dose aspirin as prophylaxis against cardiovascular problems. Prophylaxis can either be primary… a preventative matter. Or it can be secondary. A patient has had a cardiovascular event and needs to be on aspirin to prevent a second occurrence.

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My Son Has A Stiff Back When He Gets Up in the Morning - Is It Ankylosing Spondylitis?

By Nathan Wei

Ankylosing Spondylitis is one of the more common forms of arthritis affecting about 0.5% of the population. It affects men more often than women in a ratio of about 2.4-5:1. The disease is categorized as a "spondyloarthropathy"… a type of arthritis that preferentially affects the spine. It usually starts in the sacroiliac joints- the joints that join the pelvis to the low back- and spreads upwards to involve the rest of the spine. Peak age of onset is between 15 and 30 years.

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Doctor - Does Acupuncture Work for Arthritis?

Some notes of caution. The effect of acupuncture in relieving pain is not huge. The effects are modest and do take time. The second issue is that the placebo effect undoubtedly enters into the equation.

An interesting study from Dr. George Lewith in Southampton, England used positron emission technology to demonstrate that brain blood flow was altered in a different manner with real acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture therefore validating the concept of a real pain modulating effect of acupuncture on the brain.

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Is Aromatherapy Effective For Arthritis?

Examples of some oils which have been used to treat arthritis include:

Benzoin, Chamomile, Camphor, Cypress, Eucalyptus, Ginger, Juniper, Lavender, Hyssop, and Rosemary.

Few well-controlled studies have been done to formally test aromatherapy in arthritis. One recent uncontrolled observation was made by an orthopedic surgeon in Japan.

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Arthritis Cure? Is it True Or is it a Quack Remedy?

By Nathan Wei

The federal watchdog that guards against rip-offs in any commercial venue is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). One area that is particularly filled with claims for unproven treatments is arthritis.

The FTC and the Arthritis Foundation report that quack remedies for arthritis can be harmful in two different ways. First, one in every ten people who try these unproven remedies report side effects. Second, any remedy, even if it contains no harmful can be detrimental if it stops or delays someone from seeking an effective treatment program from their physician.

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How Safe Are Prescription Topical Non-Steroidal Drugs?

By Nathan Wei

The treatment of osteoarthritis is essentially palliative. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease where the articular cartilage- the gristle that caps the ends of long bones wears away. More than 20 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis, making it the most common form of arthritis.

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Common Function and Disfunction Of The Knee

The knee joint is one of the major weight bearing joints, it has to cope with walking, running, bending, jumping and lifting objects. It also works in conjunction with the hip & ankle joints, assisting in static erect posture (standing). So not only does the knee joint need to offer stability & weight support, but it must also offer considerable mobility. It is no surprise then that it is one of the most commonly injured joints in the human body.

With a torn ACL, there is increased play in the joint allowing shearing forces across the cartilage surface, and leading to progressive tearing of the cartilage discs (menisci) and breakdown of the joint surface. Over time, this breakdown leads to degenerative arthritis.

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