Arthritis Archive

Q. I have rheumatoid arthritis, and my doctor wants me to take prednisone for it. Will prednisone be bad for my blood pressure, which is already high?

A. Prednisone raises blood pressure in many people who take it. One reason is that prednisone and other corticosteroids cause the body to retain fluid. Extra fluid in the circulation can cause an increase in blood pressure.

There are other conditions besides arthritis that can make walking difficult and even painful, such as peripheral artery disease, chronic venous insufficiency, lumbar spinal stenosis, and diabetic neuropathy.

Pain relief creams and ointments can get the medicine right to where it hurts, and the smell is often familiar and soothing. But do they work?

When something like a knee hurts, there's a natural tendency to rub it. And if it really hurts, most of us will think about popping a pain-relieving pill of some kind — acetaminophen (Tylenol) for starters, or perhaps one of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn).

It starts with a bang, often in the dead of night. The pain is severe, almost unbearable, and fever may make you feel even worse. Lying still helps a bit, but even the touch of a sheet can be excruciating. And, worst of all, your distress may be greeted with a sly smile instead of supportive sympathy. You are suffering from gout, a common disease that's often misunderstood.

Myths and realities

Gout is an old disease, and erroneous beliefs about it are almost just as old. The name, in fact, is based on a misconception It's derived from a Latin word that means "a drop"; ancient physicians chose the name because they believed the pain resulted from a drop of "a bad humor." Over the centuries, gout was considered a rich man's disease, a product of overeating, excessive drinking, and corpulence. Modern research, however, shows that gout has no relationship to wealth or social status and little to diet and drink. But one traditional view has proved correct: Gout is a man's disease, occurring seven to nine times more often in men than women. It's also a common disease, striking an estimated 3.4 million American men annually. That makes gout the most prevalent form of inflammatory arthritis in men older than 40.

Exercising may be the last thing you want to do when your joints are stiff and achy. But exercise is a crucial part of osteoarthritis treatment in order to  ease pain and stay active.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic and progressive disease characterized by loss of the cartilage that covers and protects the ends of the bones where they meet at a joint. Without this protective coating, bone rubs against bone, causing irritation and inflammation. The result is pain and stiffness in the joint and often pain in the muscles and ligaments that surround it.

Don't miss out on exercise benefits. Use these shortcuts to avoid overloading arthritic joints.

 Image: © kali9/Getty Images

You might think that exercising would be harmful when you have osteoarthritis, a degenerative wearing away of cartilage in the joints. In reality, exercising is one of the most helpful strategies for living with the condition. "Arthritic joints like movement. The pain and stiffness tend to get better once you get going," says Clare Safran-Norton, clinical supervisor of rehabilitation services at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

But because you have arthritis, you may need to exercise differently to avoid injury and pain.