Regular readers know that I am an osteoarthritis (OA) sufferer, probably for at least 15 years. I have it in my hands, the base of each thumb. So it hurts me to turn a key, unbutton a shirt or pretty much any grasping motion. I read about OA whenever I can. I try new methods of pain relief and have chronicled many of them in these pages. Just search the term a r t h r i t i s on the right to check them out.
Now comes WebMD with a quiz on how to relieve OA pain. With my experience you might guess that I would do very well on such a quiz. You (and I) would be wrong. I only got 10 out of 17 answers right. So, there is always room for improvement, even for a long time OA sufferer who writes a blog a good health.
I am not going to spoil your fun and give you the answers, but I will share a couple of questions and you can see how well you do.
The first question: Eating oranges and grapefruit triggers osteoarthritis pain. True or false?
Here is a good one: Which is best for relieving osteoarthritis pain? Heat; Ice; Heat or ice; Alternating between them.
How much extra stress does each pound of weight put on your hips? Twice as much; Three times; Six times; Eight times. If you are overweight, it is worth taking the quiz just to find out the answer. Good luck!
Please feel free to share your thoughts on this.
Tony
Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger 
Web MD is a good source of information, but, but its biases must be recognized. Many of the questions in this quiz provide questionable “definitive” answers when various credible reference sites offer differing conclusions. I am concerned with quizzes like this, because it may convince people to avoid good viable health care approaches to addressing OA (ex. acupuncture, chiropractic and nutritional supplementation and dietary habits.)
Information on Web MD is simply one source of information and NOT a website healthcare decisions should be based solely on. In my office, I treated thousands of patients with osteoarthritis and helped improve function, reduced the rate that OA typically progresses, and reduced their symptoms combining joint manipulation, exercise, stress reduction, proper sleep, supplementation and dietary modification. Web MD may make claims contrary to this, but the clinical reality of increased function, reduced pain and restored quality in my patient’s lives takes precedent (in my opinion) over hand selected journal references.
I am sure the intent of this article was meant to help educate people about the “myths” around osteoarthritis. I am just not certain this quiz offers the consumer the best unbiased options. It does, however, open dialogue to create better awareness about this ABNORMAL degenerative arthritis (that’s unfortunately common) because no one is told what steps to take to prevent or slow down its destructive outcome.
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Thanks for sharing, Doctor Jonathan. While not definitive, I found a lot of useful info in this quiz.
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I appreciate all your effort and your willingness to share different perspectives
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Coconut oil is awesome. I give it to my dogs. I take care of an Alzheimers patient, and she has improved tremendously. Now if your interested the Bromelain in fresh pineapple. The CORE in pineapple helps with osteoarthritis natural PAIN RELIEVER
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Christine –
Thanks very much for sharing that. Much appreciated. As you probably know I am a big fan of coconut oil in all its uses.
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