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National Arthritis Month --- May 2006
May is National Arthritis Month. Arthritis affects persons of both sexes and all ages and races and is the most
common cause of disability in the United States. The
national prevalence of arthritis and arthritis-attributable activity limitation
are both projected to increase during the next 25 years.
Persons with arthritis can reduce the effects of the disease by staying physically active, maintaining a healthy weight,
and getting educated about arthritis
self-management. To help persons with arthritis better manage their disease, the
Arthritis Foundation offers community-based exercise classes (the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program and the Arthritis
Foundation Aquatics Program) and self-management education classes (the
Arthritis Foundation Self-Help Program), which can
reduce pain and improve function and mental health among persons with arthritis.
The CDC Arthritis Program helps fund activities by 36 state arthritis programs to increase the quality of life among
persons affected by arthritis by implementing recommendations in the
National Arthritis Action Plan: A Public Health
Strategy and promoting progress toward reaching the arthritis-related
Healthy People 2010 objectives (objectives 2-1 through 2-8).
The CDC Arthritis Program has developed and is using a physical activity awareness intervention (Physical
Activity: The Arthritis Pain Reliever)and is developing a similar intervention for Spanish language speakers.
Additional information about arthritis as a public health problem is available at
http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis.
Information about arthritis and local arthritis programs and services is available from the Arthritis Foundation at
http:// www.arthritis.org or by telephone at 800-568-4045.
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Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
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endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
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