Arthritis Groups

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Arthritis: Conquering the Pain and Reclaiming Movement

Arthritis affects a surprisingly large number of Americans. A 2005 survey showed that more than 20 percent of adults reported having cases of arthritis, with a significant percentage claiming that the condition was serious enough to limit their activity. Increasing your understanding of arthritis—including how to treat and manage it—can be instrumental in reducing long-term joint damage and pain. In this guide we'll direct you to sites with all the resources you need to understand this extremely prevalent condition.

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What Is Arthritis?

Arthritis is an umbrella term that refers to more than 100 conditions affecting the musculoskeletal ... read more »

Arthritis Types

There are more than 100 varieties of arthritis, according to the MedTerms Dictionary on MedicineNet.com. ... read more »

Diagnosis and Treatment of Arthritis

Between the invasive and noninvasive procedures used to diagnose arthritis, and the supplements, ... read more »

Arthritis Groups

Nonprofit organizations, research institutes, and professional academies: every major disease affecting citizens of the United States is backed by a host of organizations working to increase awareness, enhance research efforts, and advocate on behalf of patients and professionals. In this section we'll look at the most prominent arthritis organizations, and those with the most useful and informative online resources.

Dulcinea's Insight

All arthritis organizations make enhancing public education a part of their program, and their Web sites reflect this. On the following sites you'll not only find overviews of the work these groups are actively engaged in, you'll find high quality, authoritative guides to understanding, treating, and managing arthritis.

Many associations offer newsletters to keep readers abreast of new developments on the site or with arthritis. If you're interested in subscribing to a newsletter, you can generally find the link displayed prominently on the homepage or in the "About Us" section of the Web sites

Arthritis organizations that fund research make the latest findings available on their sites. These pages are the perfect places to go for research summaries that aren't written in scientific babble.

Dulcinea's Picks

The Arthritis Foundation is a national nonprofit supporting over 100 types of arthritis. The site hosts the most comprehensive body of arthritis information available on the Web. The "Advocacy" section outlines the national initiatives the organization is actively pursuing, including the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act, which aims to "strengthen arthritis public health initiatives," ensuring that "more people are diagnosed early and avoid pain and permanent disability."

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The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, is a member of the National Institutes of Health, and exists to "support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research, and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases." To this end, the "Research" section has detailed information on arthritis research initiatives and related issues.

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The American College of Rheumatology is a professional organization of physicians, scientists, and health professionals working in rheumatology and arthritis. The "Patient Education" section has comprehensive arthritis information on a myriad of topics. A particularly interesting example is the "Information About Medications" section, which describes the medications commonly used in rheumatologic care.

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