Health Expert Grant Cooper shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/23101/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/23101/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/23101/index http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/43864/arthritis Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:52:00 -0500 Grant Cooper Can I take pain medications if I am also taking Coumadin?   The following story is fictional but is comprised from encounters with a few different patients I have seen over the years. I have changed details and combined the stories in order to comply with my patients' privacy.   I had a patient come in the other day and tell me that she had terrible knee pain but that there was really nothing that could be done because she was... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/43864/arthritis http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/89519/returning Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:07:00 -0400 Grant Cooper If I had an episode of lower back pain, am I always going to be more likely to have lower back pain in the future?                   It is true that once you have an episode of lower back pain or shooting leg pain, you are probably more likely to have it in the future - if you do nothing.  But you are not going to "do... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/89519/returning http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/89518/arthritis Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:03:00 -0400 Grant Cooper "My knee hurts and my doctor says I have bone-on-bone arthritis. Do I need surgery?" I have talked about this question before on this blog, but the question continues to arise in my office so I know you may still have this question, too.   A standard story that I see in my office is a patient with six months of knee pain. He or she had an x-ray that revealed "bone-on-bone" osteoarthritis and present with the very understandable... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/89518/arthritis http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/75428/learning Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:53:00 -0400 Grant Cooper It is hard to appreciate something if you don't understand it.  Understanding your joints and how they function helps you not only appreciate them but also understand how best to care for them.  There are different basic kinds of joints in your body.  All of the mobile joints (e.g. knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, fingers) have the same basic structure.               An... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/75428/learning http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/70935/arthritis Thu, 14 May 2009 10:39:00 -0400 Grant Cooper             I was recently asked this question and it occurred to me that a better question might be: Can osteoarthritis be prevented, and, if so, how?  Osteoarthritis is also sometimes referred to as "wear-and-tear" arthritis.  It involves a wearing down over time of the cartilage in the joints.  Some people would say that it is a part of aging and "cannot be... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/70935/arthritis http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/68491/amazing Wed, 06 May 2009 15:48:00 -0400 Grant Cooper It is hard to appreciate something if you don't understand it.  Understanding your joints and how they function helps you not only appreciate them but also understand how best to care for them.  There are different basic kinds of joints in your body.  All of the mobile joints (e.g. knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, fingers) have the same basic structure.               An... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/68491/amazing http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/68489/arthritis Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:41:00 -0400 Grant Cooper One of the more common questions I am asked is if a patient's arthritis will ever get better.  When told that osteoarthritis is causing their pain, some patients get despondent and say something like, "Oh, I was afraid of that. I guess that's just part of getting older.  It can't get better, right?  I mean, even if we treat the symptoms, the arthritis won't go... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/68489/arthritis http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/64751/hyaluronic Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:08:00 -0400 Grant Cooper Hyaluronic acid is found in normal joints as a central component to healthy joint fluid. As joints age, the amount of hyaluronic acid in the joint decreases.  A result of this is a loss of resilience in the joint; a loss of shock absorbing capacity in, and lubrication of the joint.  Hyaluronic acid injections are sometimes compared to filling a car with oil. This analogy loses some of the nuances of how hyaluronic acid injections may... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/64751/hyaluronic http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/63529/arthritis Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:14:00 -0400 Grant Cooper Imagine holding a bowling ball all day, everyday, over your head.  Can you feel your shoulder muscles getting sore?  Can you imagine walking to work, sitting at your computer, cleaning your house, playing with your kids, and all the time holding that bowling ball over your head?  Well, that is essentially what your neck is doing all day.  All day, everyday, with few rests in between when you lie down, your neck is holding up... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/63529/arthritis http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/63528/headaches Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:11:00 -0400 Grant Cooper One of the best-studied musculoskeletal problems is chronic neck pain.  The most common cause of chronic neck pain is facet joint disease. The facet joints are the small joints in the spine. They act as hinge joints, allowing flexion and resisting to an extent extension and rotation.  Facet joints can become "diseased" by a variety of means.  They are most commonly acutely injured in whiplash incidents. This can happen as a result... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23101/63528/headaches