Exercise, particularly strength training, can restore function and reduce the pain of arthritis, as Tufts research scientists have discovered. In Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis, the team of researchers, headed by Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., presents a home exercise program based on a study of 46 people with severe osteoarthritis of the knee. In four months, the group--who exercised in their homes with easy-to-find equipment--reported 43 percent less pain, 44 percent improved function, and 71 percent increased muscle strength.

The 16-week exercise program starts with a daily half-hour of core exercises and adds intensity and additional exercises after the first month. The program combines strength, aerobic, and flexibility exercises, with the main focus on strength training. You'll need dumbbells, ankle weights, and an exercise step (or staircase). Even newcomers to exercise will find the illustrated instructions simple enough and the level low enough to start immediately.

The program includes a nutritional plan to reduce stiffness and inflammation, emphasizing water, fruits, vegetables, and the right fatty acid ratios. The authors also discuss medications (they work best in combination with exercise and nutrition) and sort through alternative treatments.

Nelson is the well-known author of Strong Women Eat Well, Strong Women Stay Young, Strong Women Stay Slim, and Strong Women, Strong Bones. This title is highly recommended for arthritis sufferers who want to improve their quality of life. --Joan Price

From Library Journal
The Tufts University doctor responsible for Strong Women, Strong Bones now shows women and men with arthritis how to stop hurting and start bending. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis shows the direct connection between a strength-training program and the reduction-and even prevention-of arthritis symptoms. This book offers: € An exercise program designed specifically to protect the joints and relieve stiffness and soreness
€ A scientifically based eating plan to reduce inflammation and pain
€ A hands-on guide to the latest medications
€ The real story on complementary therapies-which ones work? Which ones don't?
€ Proven strategies for overcoming arthritis-related depression

About the Author
Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Nutrition and Director of the Center of Physical Fitness at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Her news-making research has been published in JAMA and The New England Journal of Medicine, and covered in popular media including "Oprah," "Today," Time, and Newsweek. Her previous books include Strong Women Eat Well; Strong Women, Strong Bones; Strong Women Stay Young; and Strong Women Stay Slim.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Pain relief, like weight loss, is never short on new "breakthrough programs" promising results based on the latest scientific research, especially when it comes to arthritis. Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis covers much of the same ground that other books on the subject have in terms of diet, medications, and nutritional supplements, but what sets it apart is its focus on strength training as a means of relieving pain.

Bestselling author Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., along with her coauthors and colleagues at Tufts University, studied 46 arthritis sufferers over a period of four months. Half of the patients in the study completed a home-based strength-training program supervised by one of the researchers. The other half received only emotional support by the same researcher.

According to the Tufts team, patients who underwent the strength-training program experienced a 43 percent reduction in arthritis pain compared to only 12 percent in those that did not. They also reported a host of related benefits, including significant increases in mobility. The authors argue that strength training works primarily by building up the muscles supporting the affected joints, thereby taking pressure off these joints. The book provides a detailed summary of specific exercises that are recommended for specific types of arthritis pain, along with easy-to-follow illustrations demonstrating how each exercise should be performed. One example is a simple toe stand for ankle pain. Another is a back extension for lower-back pain. All can be done alone and in the privacy of your own home.

Additional points of interest include the chapters on joint replacement surgery and choosing the right medications, but it's the material on strength training that will make Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis a strong addition to the bookshelf of anyone suffering from this debilitating disease. (P. L. Jennings)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

More than forty million Americans have arthritis, a disease of joint deterioration that costs people everything they take for granted. But with breakthrough research that she conducted with fellow Tufts scientists Kristin Baker and Ronenn Roubenoff, Miriam E. Nelson has developed a plan that people can use to actually reverse the pain and immobility that arthritis causes-right in their own homes.

Those people with arthritis who participated in the groundbreaking Tufts study experienced a 43 percent reduction in pain, a 44 percent improvement in physical function, and a 71 percent improvement in strength. This book offers readers the exact same lifestyle "tools" that the Tufts team gave its subjects:

* an exercise program designed specifically to protect the joints and ameliorate stiffness and soreness
* an eating plan to reduce inflammation and pain
* a guide to the latest medications and complementary therapies
* strategies for overcoming arthiritis-related depression.

Author Biography: Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D., is an associate professor of nutrition and director of the Center for Physical Fitness at the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston.
Kristin Baker, Ph.D., is a research fellow at the NIH Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center at Boston University Medical Center.
Ronenn Roubenoff, M.D., M.H.S., is chief of the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.
Lawrence Lindner, M.A., is the executive editor of the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal