Arthritis: A Joint Effort

Jensen is starting to explore what he can do. "I'm still terribly uneducated about the whole thing," he says. "So I intend to learn more."

He could probably learn a thing or two from Ruth Young of Sykesville, Md. After living with osteoarthritis for almost 50 years, she says, "I'm an expert in the subject."

Young first noticed the effects of osteoarthritis in her neck at around age 30, when she discovered she had trouble turning her head to look back when riding a bicycle. "Life changed when I couldn't ride my bike anymore," she says.

Now 79, the retired professor has arthritis pain in her neck, hands, feet, knees, hip and back. Still, she says, "I have not let it affect me too much, because I'm determined to overcome it." Although she has had to give up knitting and has trouble grasping a pen or holding a fistful of change, she still travels widely, swims every day and works with a physical therapist.

"You have to keep on moving," she says. "I've seen people who don't, and they freeze up pretty quickly."

Although exercise and a positive outlook, along with medications and hip replacement surgery, have provided some relief from symptoms, Young is impatient with how little is still known about osteoarthritis and its treatment.

"Arthritis has been known for centuries," she says. "I find it very irritating that they haven't made more progress. I don't care who has to partner with whom. Let's get on with it."

Elia Ben-Ari is a Washington area freelance writer.