The Arthritis Handbook: Improve Your Health and Manage the Pain of Osteoarthritis

Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (5/08) A medical doctor that has devoted his life to the study of arthritis, Dr. Cooper became interested in this disease as a child. Seeing his own grandmother suffer the pain and debilitating effects of this crippler was his inspiration. Working at New York's "Beth Israel Medical Center" in the Orthopedics Department, Dr. Grant Cooper specializes in the care of people with spine, sports and musculoskeletal problems. "The Arthritis Handbook" is a five-part, 224-page book that will change the lives of arthritis sufferers everywhere. Dr. Cooper has broken it down to a combination of three vital elements. These three elements are diet, exercise and carefully selected supplements to a healthy diet. Dr. Cooper shows you how you can do much more to ease your pain than just taking pills. He does not advocate discontinuance of such drugs as are prescribed; he just gives the reader alternatives. In Part I, he defines: Osteoarthritis and how it develops in the human body. The role obesity plays in damaging the cushioning properties of cartilage. How the additional weight puts undue pressure on these joints, causing damage to the cushion. Part II deals with nutrition and the benefits of eating a healthy diet. Grant stresses such things as more fruits and vegetables, less red meat and more fish. The depth and concise detail that these topics covered kept me very interested. I enjoyed the way he explained the diet and what each part played toward a healthy body. Part III explained the importance of exercise and the types of exercise one should do to help ease the pain of this disease. He covers this portion of the book with many photographs and an in-depth discussion. So in-depth is his coverage of this important area that he dedicates about a third of the book to it. Stretching, Strength Training, Aerobics, specific knee and hip exercises and lifestyle changes are just some of the topics covered. Part IV describes what Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate are and what part they play in the health of the human body. Part V is the one we all fear, "Medical and Surgical Options." Dr. Cooper gives an insight into medications, injections and surgery. Explaining the benefits and drawbacks of these procedures, he lets the reader know what can be expected. I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing book and recommend it highly to anyone that has this disease and wants to know more, or has a loved one that has this crippling debilitator. "The Arthritis Handbook" is very well written and presented, in-depth examples and explanations, good pictures and quality printing earned this book my highest A+ rating. Buy it, read it and live well by following Dr. Cooper's recommendations.

Dr. Cooper has provided an extensive comprehensive review that all people may benefit from. Very clearly written easy to understand and easy to refer back to again and again. Would definitely recommend to all people of all ages. The average layperson all the way up to a medical professional may find this book extremely useful.

The Arthritis Handbook is an easy read and very informative. If you have osteoarthritis (wear-and-tear arthritis), you need to read this book. It explains what osteoarthritis is, and how you can take simple steps to treat it. The nutrition and exercise sections are excellent. The pictures make following the exercises very easy. Other treatments, like supplements, medications, injections, and even surgery are discussed in language that I could easily follow. I enjoyed reading this book and think you will, too. I wish I had found this book years ago! But, better late than never.

The Arthritis Handbook is a book that I wish had been available 40 years ago and that I would have been smart enough to follow. Other than folk medicine books, I don't recall much in the way of medical advice for the general public back then. I assumed I would have to follow that path of my elders, that arthritis was a part of aging, and there would be a cane in my future. Dr. Grant Cooper has written a very accessible book about osteoarthritis, one that has relevance for all age groups. For the young, it provides a plan to minimize one of the probable effects of aging. For seniors, it is a guide to ameliorating the effects of arthritis. One of Cooper's goals is to help the reader make lifestyle changes and the book is written and organized to give the reader the information to make those changes. In Part I, Dr. Cooper describes how joints work and how arthritis begins. Some readers might be tempted to skip this part and go directly to the chapters that give action plans for the reader to follow. That would be a mistake. That would be a mistake. Knowing how the joints work and how arthritis sets in provides a foundation for the subsequent chapters particularly those describing exercise. Nutrition is covered in Part II. The advice is not faddish and clearly presented. It might be the most difficult aspect of ones life to modify but the author makes a compelling case and relates the effects of diet to the information on joints and arthritis provided in Part I. Dr. Cooper describes why and how he modified his own eating habits which contributes to the effectiveness of the message that proper nutrition plays a major part in preventing the onset of arthritis and easing the effects of an existing condition. I had already begun an exercise program as described in Part III before reading this book. Dr. Cooper recommends working with a trainer and I endorse that recommendation. I was going to the gym on my own before I engaged a trainer and was astonished at the ineffectiveness of my approach. It is difficult to effectively exercise based on text and photographs in a book. A trainer will make sure that you are performing the exercises and stretches properly to avoid injury and also make sure that you are exercising and stretching the right areas of the body. Part IV covers supplements. As with nutrition, Dr. Cooper takes a practical, conservative, and balanced, approach that doesn't stray into exotic, supplement remedies popular in infomercials. He is careful to indicate where the benefits of certain supplements have not been conclusively proven but where there is sufficient reason to believe that they will have some effect. I found his discussions on fish oil and glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate particularly interesting as I was taking those supplements before reading the book. For example, while my fish oil supplement is advertised as containing 1,200 mg of fish oil, it is well short of the recommended amount of EPA/DHA. The subtitle of the book is

As an arthritis sufferer I was delighted to receive a review copy of The Arthritis Handbook which I read over the last couple of days. A slim volume, it is a cornucopia of information and I intend to keep it at hand. Dr. Grant Cooper has written a concise, clearly understandable guidebook for managing arthritis to achieve the best quality of life. I realized while reading that when I was running fifty miles a week I was doing everything he suggests. The onset of fibromyalgia set me back tremendously but there is no reason I, and anyone who has arthritis, cannot slowly introduce the changes Dr. Cooper enumerates. The brilliance of this book is that, while making arthritis more tolerable, it also will improve your overall health. The book is divided into five sections. The first is a brief explanation of the workings of your joints and how arthritis develops. The second through fifth are the remedial portions. Dr. Cooper addresses nutrition and his recommendations are in line with those for good health in general. Arthritis sufferers need antioxidants even more than others and there is a list of the most antioxidant-rich foods. Essentially you need to add a large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet. You also need to add more cold water fish as the omega 3 fatty acids are important. You should limit your red meat consumption. All these and the others mentioned are common sense not just for our health but also for the health of the planet. If, as Dr. Cooper suggests, you begin to adjust your eating habits slowly you CAN reach your goal of a healthier diet. Part III deals with exercise. Counterintuitively it is important to move the affected joints. Dr. Cooper presents stretching and weight bearing exercises with clear explanations and excellent photographs. As with the dietary changes, slowly incorporating exercise into your daily routine can have great benefit and not just for those who suffer from arthritis. Part IV covers supplements that may help some arthritis sufferers. Not everyone should take supplements and, as throughout the book, there are caveats and recommendations to discuss any changes you contemplate with your doctor. Part V broaches the topic of surgery. Hopefully this will be a last resort and Dr. Cooper discusses the various degrees of surgery available to those who find it necessary. I learned quite a lot from this small book and I have been keeping myself informed as best I can about my various forms of arthritis. I believe I can make some of these changes quite easily since I used to live this way. They are all accessible to anyone, however, and when the book comes out you will want to read it if you suffer from arthritis no matter how debilitating.