New Hope for Arthritis Sufferers
Arthritic Association study finds lifestyle changes can delay disease progression
Press Dispensary - October 11, 2007 - Early evidence from an ongoing study of the lifestyle habits of arthritis sufferers could transform the treatment of arthritis, reports UK charity The Arthritic Association (http://www.arthriticassociation.org.uk). Participants in the two-year study, started in July 2006, have already found that small changes to diet and exercise can reduce pain and increase energy and mobility.
Members of the Eastbourne based charity completed a lifestyle questionnaire and then began a Home Treatment Programme, changing their daily routine and diet, and taking natural supplements. After just three months on the programme, more than seven out of ten respondents (72%) reported reduced symptoms, while almost half (48%) claimed to have higher energy levels.
Arthritis is the single biggest cause of disability in the UK, caused by the body mistakenly attacking healthy joints and tissue. Against a backdrop of repeated scares about conventional arthritis drugs, The Arthritic Association promotes a holistic approach to managing the debilitating disease.
The Home Treatment Programme for arthritis was first developed more than 60 years ago by Charles de Coti-Marsh. Although thousands of people have since benefited from following the programme, it remained obscure until a 2001 Medical Research Council study came out in support of its basic tenets. Now The Arthritic Association, the charity that promotes de Coti-Marsh’s work, is assembling compelling evidence for the programme's efficacy.
"Charles de Coti-Marsh was ahead of his time," said Bruce Hester, principal home treatment adviser at The Arthritic Association. "He researched and devised a drug-free method of managing and even reversing arthritic symptoms, which did not sit well with medical orthodoxy at the time. Today, research puts diet and lifestyle at the centre of many common medical conditions, and this latest study suggests that there is a natural way to manage arthritis, and that it works."
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Notes for editors The Arthritic Association is a registered charity dedicated to helping relieve people from the pain of arthritis through natural methods. Founded in 1942 by Charles de Coti-Marsh, the Association continues his holistic approach to dietary management, postural management and natural supplementation. Although his theories and techniques are recognised as a complex intervention to improve health, for many arthritis sufferers their life is made better within 4 months.
The survey began in July 2006 and those taking part are asked to return a total of five questionnaires over two years. Of the 89 members who began the Home Treatment Programme, the most recent results are from the 54 respondents who returned their second questionnaire, after 3 months on the programme.
For further information, please contact:
Ian Sketchley, secretary and treasurer, The Arthritic Association
Tel: 01323 433 770/777
Email: ian@arthriticassociation.org.uk
Site: www.arthriticassociation.org.uk
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