Is It Important To Learn More About My Osteoarthritis?

While you don't have to get a medical degree, learning more about your own disease will help you better understand why your doctor recommends certain treatments and asks you to avoid others. In addition, knowing more about your disease will help you feel in control of your OA and lead you to become an active participant in your own care.

Learning more about your own disease will help you better understand why your doctor recommends certain treatments and asks you to avoid others. It will also help you feel in control of your osteoarthritis and lead you to become an active participant in your own care.

There are many things that you can learn about OA, such as how it starts, what makes it worse, and what can help to reduce joint pain and impairment. In one study of adults who were provided with a self-help educational program, doctors found that even four years later, those patients who had completed the educational program had more knowledge of OA, had less joint pain, and tended to comply more with recommended therapies, compared with similar patients who didn't participate in the educational program.

The Arthritis Foundation sponsors an arthritis self-help course, which is intended to teach people with OA about the latest pain management techniques, the newest medications, and the best ways to manage stress and fatigue. You can learn more about this program by calling your local chapter of the Arthritis Foundation or going on the Internet and looking at the following website: http://www.arthritis.org/events/getinvolved/ProgramsServices/ArthritisSelfHelp.asp.

It is most definitely important to learn more. This is a progressive disease; we need to understand how this works, what to expect, how to deal and live with it. It is also extremely important to understand that new treatments and drugs are constantly being utilized. The more you learn the better you will be able to manage it and enjoy life.