Arthritis: Conquering the Pain and Reclaiming Movement

• Medical dictionaries provide brief overviews of arthritis, generally within the space of one paragraph. Medical encyclopedias bring a slightly deeper degree of specificity by introducing the symptoms, causes, and treatments of arthritis, often in a bulleted format. Overviews from consumer health sites are designed to provide comprehensive introductions to diseases and conditions, and represent the most specific type of overview. Each of these resources can be found in the Picks.

• The three most prominent types of arthritis are:

• Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, caused by degradation of the cartilage at the ends of the bones, leading to increased friction, pain, stiffness, and swelling.

• Rheumatoid arthritis, afflicting the lining of the joints. Although its cause is unknown, it is characterized by pain, stiffness, and inflammation of the joints, which can lead to destruction of the cartilage and bone.

• Fibromyalgia, causing stiffness and pain in the tissue supporting bones and joints.

• It might sound obvious but, as arthritis is a general term, be sure the information you find pertains to the specific type of arthritis you're researching. If it's a rare condition and the following sites don't yield information that you're satisfied with, take your search to a health-specific search engine. You'll find this in the "Where should I begin my research?" section of the findingDulcinea Health Guide.

• Descriptions of diagnostic procedures include explanations of what the tests aim to achieve, how they are conducted, and what is required of the patient. Likewise, descriptions of surgical procedures overview the goal of the surgery, and describe how it is conducted.

• 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.

• For distilled overviews and headline stories, go to news sites; for in-depth, primary information from leading scientists and researchers, medical journals are the best choice; for reactions to the news and personal perspective, try reading blogs. Together these resources can keep you abreast of the latest happenings on the subject.

• Some sites post abstracts (short summaries) of articles from professional journals on their sites. The full-length articles are only available to the paid subscribers of the journals. The abstracts, however, do give a good sense of the study and its findings.

• Support sites, forums, message boards, and chat rooms can all be used as support outlets. Some support groups and boards are moderated, while others are not. Moderated Web sites are usually run by volunteers who are familiar with the particular issue and can ensure that the board doesn’t go off track. Un-moderated boards can be very useful but beware that there may be people with an agenda different from yours. Always use caution when chatting on the Web.

• If you're looking for support, the Arthritis Foundation suggests contacting your local branch. Just enter your zip code in the search box located in the center of the homepage.