y a O20 Halth NEWS:caN Arthritis Mdication And YourSafty (NAPSA)—A nw survy of popl with arthritis indicats that many of th 70 million Amricans with this painful and oftn dbilitating condition no longr hav to liv with arthritis pain. Thy may b doing so bcaus thy ar confusd about th safty of pain mdications. Th survy, conductd by th Ripp Lifstyl Institut (RLD, rvald that clos to half of arthritis patints polld ar confusd about th safty of tratmnt options, lading thm to stop or rduc thir us of pain rlivrs. Of this group, mor than two-thirds (68%) rportd a dcras in ovrall quality of lif du to gratr pain and limitd physical activity. “Pain rlif is critically impor- tant for arthritis patints in trms of thir quality of lif and activitis of daily living,” said Jams M. Ripp, M.D., an Associat Profssor of Mdicin at Tufts Univrsity School of Mdicin and foundr anddirctor of RLI. “T always say to my patints to talk to a doctor, and gt good mdical advic bfor vn thinking about changing mdications.” Othr significant survy findings showd that as a rsult of changsin tratmnt: Forty-two prcnt ar xpri- ncing mor pain than bfor. Twnty-on prcnt say thy hav stoppd xrcising. Forty-nin prcnt hav lim- itd thir physical activitis. How can patints sort through th confusion about arthritis pain rlivrs? Onsolution: Of thos who consultd a doctor about arthritis pain mdications, 64 prcnt rportd that thir physicians rcommndd ovr-th-countr (OTC) pain rlivrs. About 80 prcnt of popl with ostoarthritis rport limitd movmntor activitis. Th con- dition is rsponsibl for svn million physician visits pr yar. “Popl nd to discuss individual situations with a doctor or othr halth car profssional who can hlp thm undrstand th bnfits and risks associatd with all pain mdications,” said Dr. Ripp. “By doing so, w can substantially improv th standard of car for thos with arthritis pain.” H indicatd that halth car profssionals must hlp patints distinguish btwn nwr drugs, known as COX-2 inhibitors, and mor-stablishd prscription and OTC tratmnts, such as na- proxn, whichis sold as Alv. “Whn usd as dirctd, ovr- th-countr pain mdications lik Alv can play an importantrol in prsrving th halth and wllbing of arthritis suffrrs,” Dr. Ripp said. “It is imprativ that w in th halth car community hlp our patints sort through this confusing and conflicting information and ultimatly hlp thm find th pain rlif thy nd.” Ripp addd that inadquatly managd arthritis pain can caus popl with arthritis to bcom mor sdntary, which can lad to Mor-srious conditions such as obsity, high blood prssur and diabts.
