|
Sometimes when you’re driving along
the road of day to day life with work,
family, friends, fitness, its easy to ignore
those niggling aches and pains. We often
hear men say that they have tennis elbow
or their knees are a bit creaky when they’re
lifting something. At the gym we’ve
overheard women say that they are sure
they already have or will have arthritis
in their knees, as they jump on the treadmill.
Whether you are a man or a woman, arthritis
could affect you.
These aches and pains are telling you
something. They’re telling you that
you should take them seriously and ease
up or change the way you do some of the
activities that bring on the pain. Take
care of your joints now and prevent pain
when you’re
older. Have a look at this section for
more information
about the aches and pains...do something
about it, go and see your doctor as the
first step.
There are several types of Arthritis.
People get Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
at any time. But the age group where
RA
is most
commonly diagnosed is 30 to 50 years. What
is RA? Click
here.
Arthritis can strike people of any age
- click here to read Dianne Housego's
story of living with arthritis.
 Self
Management of your arthritis will help
you to live better with arthritis.
Click here
to find out more. A key tool
to assist you in self-managing your
arthritis
could be Challenging
Arthritis, our innovative,
interactive web-based program.
Rest and Exercise for RA
The proper balance of rest and exercise
is very important in the management
of RA.
Rest
Rest helps to reduce swelling and pain
around the joint and reduces fatigue.
It is important that the day is planned
to allow activity to be broken up with
frequent periods of rest. The amount
of rest needed depends on the state
of the disease. When it is severe,
or in a more active phase, more rest
and less exercise is needed than during
times of improvement
Exercise
Exercise means a daily routine, specifically
designed for the individual to maintain
muscle strength, healthy cartilage
and improve joint mobility. Exercising
in warm water is beneficial - click
here to find out when classes are on
near you. It is essential to involve
members of
your
health team,
especially the Physiotherapist, in
planning an exercise program.
It's great to exercise to stay healthy
and feel good! But remember not to push
yourself through sharp pain. If you have
aches and pains in your joints then you
need to take care, ease off the exercise
that is causing and your pain and see your
doctor if the pain continues
Seminars and Courses
This page is just
a small sample of what Arthritis NSW
has on offer. If you’re in this
age group you would probably like to
have a look at the many courses and seminars
we run. Click
on this link and see what's
on offer.
Branches
Are you interested
in meeting up with a group of people
that share many of the same issues
with their arthritis as you? Fill out
the
quick survey below and let us
know.
Becoming a Member
 Life's
busy for you - you may have a young family,
you may be working, and you may be trying
to juggle all the things in your life
with your arthritis. Wouldn't it be great
to have resources at your fingertips
that gave you information about the latest
developments in arthritis medicines,
and ways in which you can manage your
arthritis better and live a full life?
Membership gets you free access to our Challenging
Arthritis Program, an innovative,
interactive program you can do over
the internet or on a CD-ROM. With modules
that cover Coping with Arthritis, Managing
Pain, Exercise and Relaxation, Challenging
Arthritis has already helped hundreds
of people like you, who are still of
working age and wish to remain active
in spite of their arthritis.
Our quarterly Arthritis News magazine,
which is only available to members, has
articles on medicines, exercise, diet
and research, as well as information
on seminars and other events.
Being a member of Arthritis NSW gives
you access to our branches and all they
offer - in particular, warm water exercise
classes (where available), the latest
research
news, and, importantly, social contact
with other people who have arthritis.
The Young
Adults with Arthritis (YAWA) support
group has a busy social calendar, and
may be of interest to you.
Membership fees for individuals are
only $30.00 per annum and couples/families
can join for $35.00 per annum. Click
here to find out more about joining Arthritis
NSW.
 Want
to know more?
Click on the image at right to go to
our resources page.
| 
Have you been feeling unwell?