Thanks to our fans and followers, Arthritis Broadcast Network’s 2018 #CRArthritis Facebook and Twitter Live event reached over 94,205 people to date!
We did it! The Arthritis Broadcast Network (ABN) #CRArthritis Facebook and Twitter Live event at the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) Annual Scientific Meeting and Arthritis Health Professions Association (AHPA) Annual Meeting conducted a total of 39 interviews (7 more than last year) in a little over 48 hours. Thank you to all of our interviewers, interviewees, and online audience who participated in the event. Because of you, the #CRArthritis event have informed and educated over 94,205 people to date. We’d say that’s an unqualified success, and you were a central part of making it happen – thank you!
The University of Regina is looking for participants to evaluate an online pain self-management program, completed with Do-It-Yourself Guides, Stories and Additional Resources.
The University of Regina is seeking seniors to enroll in a research study to evaluate a pain self-management program for older adults(www.onlinetherapyuser.ca/olderadults). This program is only offered in English.
The research study is led by Thomas Hadjistavropoulos, Ph.D., Professor and Research Chair in Aging and Health, University of Regina. The purpose of this study is to explore the acceptability and effectiveness of a remotely-delivered chronic pain management program tailored to older adults, the Pain Course, when delivered in both online and printed (workbook) formats.
This program requires a 3-month commitment, as participants will have 2 months to work through the course material with a 4-week follow-up period.
Recruitment will take place across Canada and participants will be eligible for the study if they:
are a resident of Canada
are 65 years of age or older
have experienced pain for more than three months
do not have severe depression or anxiety
have regular access to a computer and the internet
Potential participants will be required to complete a preliminary screening and telephone assessment. If participants meet the inclusion criteria, they will be required to complete questionnaires at pre-treatment, post-treatment and 4-week follow-up.
The course includes 5 Core Lessons over a 2-month period, along with Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Guides, Stories and Additional Resources that will be available throughout this period.
The deadline for potential participants to sign up is Wednesday, April 4th. If you want to learn more about the study, please email Ainsley, the primary researcher, at aam549@uregina.ca.
Want to know what Canada’s leading rheumatologists are thinking? Join us for our #CRArthritis Facebook and Twitter Live event!
Arthritis Consumer Experts hosts the #CRArthritis Facebook and Twitter Live event
Powered by ACE and supported by representatives from the Arthritis Patient Advisory Board of Arthritis Research Canada and the Canadian Spondylitis Association, Arthritis Broadcast Network (ABN) will be interviewing keynote speakers, meeting attendees, patients living with arthritis, and disease experts. We invite you to participate in the Facebook and Twitter Live event. Like, share and retweet the live interviews, send us your comments or questions through Facebook and Twitter during the interviews.
Total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), also known as hip/ knee replacements, are surgical procedures in which parts of the joint are replaced with artificial material to restore function and ultimately reduce pain. As an arthritis patient, if other forms of treatment have not improved the joint’s ability to function or been able to prevent additional damage, your rheumatologist may recommend arthroplasty.
A recent study conducted by a team of Canadian Physiotherapists at The University of Western Ontario has discovered valuable information regarding the impact of prehabilitative care prior to arthroplasty. The team wanted to see if education and exercises for patients before surgery (prehabilitation) impacts pain, function, strength, anxiety and length of hospital stay after surgery (post-operative outcomes).
ACE presenting abstract at American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Meeting
Cheryl Koehn will be presenting Poster 353 on Sunday, November 5 between 9 am-11 am: Patient Experiences of Rheumatoid Arthritis Models of Care: An International Survey
The 81st American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Meeting being held November 3-8 in San Diego is the world’s premiere meeting of over 12,500 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals, sharing the latest arthritis advances and research.
Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) is excited to announce that Cheryl Koehn, Founder and President of ACE, will be presenting Poster 353: Patient Experiences of Rheumatoid Arthritis Models of Care: An International Survey on Sunday, November 5 from 9am-11am at Poster Hall C. We encourage you to attend the presentation. Cheryl, as lead author of the abstract, will be discussing the results of a first ever global survey, by patients, for patients, examining what patients’ RA models of care experiences are like in their country.
The survey was conducted by the Global RA Network, founded in 2016 by RA patient organizations and leaders from 21 countries to build international relationships and work on common goals and initiatives to improve the lives of people living with RA around the world.
ACE will also be reporting news and information from the ACR on our social media channels throughout the meeting, including ACE’s Facebook and Twitterpages and the Arthritis Broadcast Network.
If you have any areas of interest you would like ACE to report on from ACR, please send questions directly to feedback@jointhealth.org.
Massage therapy for arthritis is conducted by a licensed massage therapist or physiotherapist. After consulting with your specialist, you can do self-massages at home. In a research study, Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, found that regular use of the simple therapy led to improvements in pain, stiffness, range of motion, hand grip strength and overall functions of the joints.
In another study, Field and her team found that massage also benefits people with painful hand or wrist arthritis. There were twenty-two adults, mostly women, in this study. The women have been diagnosed with either hand or wrist arthritis. Each participant was given four weekly massages from a therapist and taught to do their own massage to alleviate joint pain and soreness at home. Field concluded: “Just a 15-minute, moderate pressure massage per day, led to reduced pain and anxiety, and increased grip strength for the participants as measured on comparative pre- and post-therapy tests.”
ACE launches first of three new blogs to help you “power up” your arthritis knowledge, get more connected to the community, and learn the latest about health policy and politics affecting our group of chronic diseases.
As Canada’s largest national patient-led organization and provider of evidence-based information and education programming, ACE is always looking for better ways to “power up” Canadians living with arthritis.
As always, we want to know what you think. We encourage you to share feedback and offer topics of interest for future blog posts.
We hope you had a great Arthritis Awareness Month in Canada!
Team ACE
Is your mouth a gateway to getting arthritis?
When Health Canada’s Canadian Institutes of Health Research was created in 1994, I, like many, was puzzled that they included oral health along with musculoskeletal health in the research pillar known as the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA). After all, what do researchers trying to solve the thousands of mysteries that make up “arthritis”, a group of over 100 different diseases, have to do with teeth. But were they ever smart to do so; the latest research shows the mouth and the joints are definitely connected.
“Preventing Rheumatoid Arthritis (Pre-RA): perspectives of people with RA, people at risk and of rheumatologists” study
A research study funded by the Canadian Rheumatology Association’s Initiative for Outcomes in Rheumatology cAre (CIORA) wants to understand the perspectives of people with RA, those at risk of RA and health care providers about potential treatments aimed at preventing rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Consumer Experts is a partner organization on the project.
Are you:
Aged over 18?
Someone with rheumatoid arthritis OR you have a first degree relative (parent, sibling, adult child) with rheumatoid arthritis?
AND,
Someone with access to a computer and the internet?
It’s summertime: What’s hot in arthritis research?
In this summer issue of JointHealth™ insight, we report on new information presented at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Congress, which took place in Madrid, Spain, in June 2017. EULAR updates covered include:
EULAR’s “Don’t Delay, Connect Today” campaign to improve models of care for inflammatory arthritis
Immunogenicity studies that show comparable results between biosimilars and originator biologics
Research from Denmark finds no higher patient use of health services after policy transition to biosimilars
A best practice spotlight on helping patients understand biosimilars
In this issue, you will also find:
Information about a new Osteoarthritis (OA) Tool for family physicians
A profile of a young scientist’s research journey looking at osteoarthritis and biomarkers
With rapid changes in access to health care information and health technologies, managing your chronic disease is becoming more collaborative and patient-centred. The ROAR public forum features a group of researchers from Arthritis Research Canada who are at the forefront of these changes. They will share what the latest research, developed in collaboration with patients, is telling us about arthritis care and self-management. Updates on current research will be presented in a relaxed and informative series of talks for people with arthritis and those who care for them. Bring your questions, as this is an interactive forum.
When? Saturday, October 21st, 2017 – 9:30am-12:30pm (PDT)
Where? Live online webcast or in-person at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, Alice MacKay Room, 350 West Georgia St, V6B 6B1
The research study is led by Thomas Hadjistavropoulos, Ph.D., Professor and Research Chair in Aging and Health, University of Regina. The purpose of this study is to explore the acceptability and effectiveness of a remotely-delivered chronic pain management program tailored to older adults, the Pain Course, when delivered in both online and printed (workbook) formats.
Want to know what Canada’s leading rheumatologists are thinking? Join us for our #CRArthritis Facebook and Twitter Live event! 
The 81st American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Meeting being held November 3-8 in San Diego is the world’s premiere meeting of over 12,500 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals, sharing the latest arthritis advances and research.
Is your mouth a gateway to getting arthritis? 
In this summer issue of 
What is ROAR?