Holistic Primary Care, in partnership with Joyn™ and EverydayHealth.com, is asking you to share your clinical insight and experience in treating women with osteoarthritis and other chronic joint problems.
New research is shedding light on the fact that, as is the case with cardiovascular disease, joint disorders manifest differently in women compared with men. Women and men also differ in their care-seeking behavior, their expectations of health care givers, the impact that joint problems have on their lives and their modes of communicating their concerns.
Arthritis afflicts an estimated 20% of the US population. Gender distribution is heavily weighted toward women, with a significant rise at menopausal age. Current estimates suggest that women represent 80% of osteoarthritis sufferers. New studies indicate that women experience greater pain intensity than men, and that pain arises in more joints simultaneously. The disorder also takes a greater psychosocial toll; isolation, depression, lower self-esteem and apathy, are more common in women with osteoarthritis than in men.
Some of the differences are anatomical. Within synovial joints, women have both a smaller gap between the bones and proportionally less cartilage then men, even when adjusted for weight and body mass. Once the cycle of inflammation begins the impact is more intense. Hormonal fluctuations during menopause can destabilize type II collagen (see “New Data Reveal Anti-Inflammatory, Cartilage-Sparing Effect of Shea Extract in Osteoarthritis,” Holistic Primary Care, Vol. 8, No. 4, Winter 2007).
Effective, holistic care of women with joint disorders depends on understanding not only the physiological differences, but also the psycho-social differences. In a given case, the therapeutic outcome is strongly influenced by the degree of a patient’s self-efficacy and sense of empowerment, family and social support, engagement in healthy lifestyle, her understanding of her condition, and the strength of her therapeutic alliance with her physician.
In the interest of improving the care of women with arthritis and joint disease, Holistic Primary Care is collaborating with Joyn™, makers of SheaFlex70™ (a joint health supplement also known as FlexNow), and EverydayHealth.com, one of the nation’s largest online health-centered communities, on a survey to better understand what practices, therapeutic options, education and communication strategies best help women facing the challenges of joint disease.
The survey will include doctors and patients, in the hope of gaining insight from both sides of the therapeutic encounter. The survey is already underway within the pool of roughly one million women with arthritis who are registered members of EverydayHealth.com. We invite all holistically minded physicians to share their experience in working with women suffering from joint disease, and their suggestions on how to improve outcomes.
To participate please go to www.holisticprimarycare.net/app/arthritis and take our brief survey.
Our goal is simply to help doctors and their patients better understand one another, and to identify practices that can increase the level of trust and participation in holistic joint health programs.
A summary of the findings will be published in the next edition of Holistic Primary Care. As a way of saying, “Thank You,” we will send all physician participants in the survey a more comprehensive report in advance of the Winter edition.
Holistic Primary Care, Joyn™, and EverydayHealth.com thank you in advance for your participation toward creating holistic solutions that make a difference. For more information regarding Joyn™ go to www.joyn7030.com.
