How To Find The Best Arthritis Specialist
by: Nathan Wei

When you’re looking for a medical specialist, it’s sometimes really difficult because you don’t know who’s good and who isn’t. Sometimes you can rely on a friend or relative who’s seen somebody… or you can call the local hospital because sometimes they’ll give you the names of people who specialize.

Unfortunately, these methods are not necessarily the best ways to locate somebody who is really skilled.

I’ve written a previous article on how to find an arthritis expert… and that should be mandatory reading if you’re looking for a top-notch person. (The 12 Things You Must Look For In An Arthritis Expert)

This new article will add a few other things.

Do you know what training an arthritis specialist (rheumatologist) has gone through? Let me tell you… Four years of college, four years of medical school, three to four years of internal medicine residency, and three years of fellowship in arthritis training. And several board exams have to be passed along the way culminating in the internal medicine boards and the rheumatology boards. Many candidates don’t pass the first time around.

You should ask if they passed the first time or not. You can maybe excuse somebody for not passing once (although even that is a bit much) but if they have had to take the exams over and over, then you might want to be a bit leery. After all you don’t want to see a doctor who’s a few fries short of a Happy Meal!

This article will give you the essential things you need to look for in an arthritis specialist.

1. Graduate of an American medical school. American medical education is still the finest in the world.

2. Residency training at a University teaching hospital.

3. Fellowship training at a top university or better yet, a biomedical research center like the National Institutes of Health.

4. Reputation. What do you hear about the doctor from his or her patients?

5. Education. Is this specialist still doing research and continuing to publish papers… the best do.

6. How many papers published- 25-50 is a minimum.

7. How does their practice run? Is the staff courteous, efficient, and do they seem to know what they’re doing?

8. Do the employees appear to enjoy their work? There’s nothing worse than walking up to a receptionist or other staff person who treats you like a piece of chuck roast.

9. When you are in the office do the physician and the staff give you informational literature about your case? Do they answer your questions?

10. Do they return your calls the same day?

11. When you start a new medicine do they go over the things should look out for as far as side effects?

12. Do they refer tough cases out? Often, a doctor who has ego problems may not refer out a patient who should be referred out. An arthritis specialist can’t be a specialist in all types of arthritis- there are too many of them. For instance, I am an expert in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. While I can take care of patients with mild lupus, I refer out more serious cases because I don’t really feel I have the expertise or the energy any longer to take care of these complicated patients… so I refer them to a University hospital.

13. Are they careful about checking laboratory tests regularly?

14. Is research being done? The best arthritis specialists do research. They have their hand on the pulse of what is happening in the forefront of their specialty.

15. Are they invited to speak nationally? Obviously, a person who is a nationally recognized speaker has the knowledge and respect to have earned this right.

16. Do they care? You can tell by how the doctor talks to you and follows up with you. Do they stay in touch? For instance, we send out a monthly newsletter to keep patients informed, entertained, and in touch.

17. Are they trustworthy? In your heart of hearts, do you feel they have your best interest at heart?

18. Are they cheap or are they expensive? Doctors who sign up with insurance plans are weak and usually second rate. The best arthritis experts don’t sign insurance contracts because they don’t want to work for the insurance company. They want to work for the patient and do what’s right for them. Not surprisingly, they also are expensive because they are the best. Remember… in life you get what you pay for.

Let’s face it… picking the right doctor isn’t like looking for laundry detergent. This is particularly true when it comes to arthritis, many forms of which can lead to crippling disability as well as early death.

The right arthritis expert can make the difference between your leading a long, productive, and enjoyable life… or dealing with a progressive, crippling, agonizingly painful existence.

Like Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it…”

It’s your life and your health that’s on the line.

About The Author

Nathan Wei, MD FACP FACR is a rheumatologist and Director of the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For more info: www.arthritis-treatment-and-relief.com/arthritis-treatment.html

Osteoarthritis, article #1

Research into the Efficacy of Hyaluronic Acid Knee Injections Continues
by: Jana Willinger

Hyaluronic acid, a key component of human tissue, aiding the body’s flexibility, mobility and moisture retention is a popular component of many anti-aging products but can also provide a wealth of benefits in the medical sphere. Recently, in an attempt to find effective treatment methods for arthritis, scientists have found a strong association between levels of Hyaluronic acid and severe knee and hip arthritis known as osteoarthritis or OA.

The study, conducted by researches from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University Medical Center, utilized a diverse subject base of blood samples from 753 white and black American men and women. This research is part of the hope that early identification and intervention can improve outcomes for people with OA, a common cause of pain and disability among older Americans. The findings suggest that measuring levels of Hyaluronic acid could allow doctors to help prevent joint destruction before it can be measured on an X-ray image.

In a similar vein, Hyaluronic acid injections have been prescribed by doctors for over 20 years as a method for treating osteoarthritis of the knee. Hyaluronic acid is thought to restore elasticity to the synovial fluid that surrounds the knee joint, which is depleted in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. However, there is continued debate as to the efficacy of these treatments. Recently, French researchers compared the safety and effectiveness of the NRD101 Hyalauronic acid knee injection with an orally administered drug, diacerein, shown by past research to have a structural benefit in hip osteoarthritis.

Three hundred one patients were randomly assigned to receive three courses of NRD101 injections, each involving one injection weekly for three weeks, every three months, along with a placebo capsule; placebo injections and diacerein twice daily; or placebo injections and capsules. Symptoms were evaluated both by patients and clinicians, and X-rays were performed to evaluate the effects of treatment on the knee structure at the beginning and end of the study. Patients in all three groups reported improvement of their symptoms and few patients dropped out of the study, which suggests injections are a feasible approach to treating knee osteoarthritis. However, the doctors did conclude that further studies were needed to evaluate other treatment approaches using this route of administration

Furthermore, based on research by the publication American Family Physician, although clinical experience and studies of available Hyaluronic acid injection products including hyaluronan and hylan G-F 20, are inconclusive, they appear to produce beneficial effects with minimal adverse reactions in a significant number of patients. Thus, although research is ongoing into the benefits of Hyaluronic acid knee injections, it is clear that the injections are at present a viable alternative to orally administered arthritis relief.

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About The Author

Jana Willinger
E-Hyaluronicacid.com is dedicated to promoting an understanding of Hyaluronic acid, a major ingredient in many medical and anti-aging therapies and to highlighting places where you can safely purchase Hyaluronic acid products. For more information go to http:/www.E-Hyaluronicacid.com.

Osteoarthritis, article #2

Powerful Arthritis Pain Relief For All Of Us
by: Jim Dowler

When you ask what arthritis is, professinals will tell you it’s inflammation of one or more joints. But you know it better as pain, swelling, stiffness, deformity, and/or a diminished range of motion of those joints! It’s estimated that over 50 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other related conditions.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Osteo arthritis seems to come with the wear and tear of aging and affects nearly three-quarters of those over 50. The onset of arthritis is marked by morning stiffness, crackling joints, and perhaps some pain. As it progresses it causes discomfort, more pain, and some disability. It also causes an enormous consumption of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs that can have undesirable long-term effects.

If left untreated, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, along with other forms of rheumatoid disease, can become progressively worse… painful crippling can result. This is particularly true of rheumatoid arthritis, which can destroy joints, unless effective treatment is administered in time.

Modern medicine doesn’t have much to offer for these chronic conditions… offering only symptomatic temporary relief. True, painkillers along with the so-called NSAIDs, non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, are effective in reducing symptoms quickly. However,these often cause serious side effects such as ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, and they don’t stop the progression of the disease. In the long run they have actually proven to worsen the condition by accelerating joint destruction.

Coping with the chronic pain of arthritis can be frustrating. You get the feeling you’re all alone facing the daily challenges caused by your arthritis symptoms. And, the traditional treatments leave a lot to be desired. It doesn’t have to be this bad!

The last few years of research on arthritis have brought some hope to this dismal picture. Old herbal remedies such as ginger, nettle, and willow bark, as well as fish oils and the already well-known cartilage constituents glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate, are about to revolutionize the treatment of arthritis. These substances not only give symptomatic relief, but, actually intervene at the root of the arthritis problem and help the body to rebuild functioning joints.

As they quickly sooth your pain, these powerful creams help repair, restore and regenerate cartilage, tendons, muscle and ligaments. Fast acting, these creams increase mobility and optimal repair of joint structures as they help reinforce the body’s protective linings and lubricating fluids by recovering cell stability and function to stop further damage. Really powerful stuff. You can learn more about this non-traditional arthritis treatment at our website. To your good health, Jim Dowler

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About The Author

Jim Dowler is the Webmaster of http:/arthritis-pain-relief.gainstreet.com