May is Arthritis Awareness Month. Arthritis is usually something associated with aging and our grandparents. What most people don’t know is that there are several different types of arthritis, affecting all kinds of people.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, over 46 million Americans are living with the disease today. Arthritis is a term used to define over 100 conditions, disorders, and diseases. However, the two major types of Arthritis are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Others include Juvenile Arthritis, Gout, Psoriatic Arthritis, Lupus, and Septic Arthritis.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the overuse of joints becomes excessive. The knees, hips, feet, and spine are most likely to contribute to this issue. This condition can be brought on by youth sports injuries, obesity, aging, and the overall breakdown of cartilage in the body.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is the most common form of the disease with a total of 1.3 million Americans suffering. In Rheumatoid Arthritis, the joints most affected are those in the hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles, feet, jaw, and neck. This causes pain and swelling, preventing victims from completing everyday tasks such as walking, driving, and working.

What do rheumatoid arthritis (RA), type 1 diabetes, Graves’ disease and multiple sclerosis have in common?  One affects joints, another blood sugar.  One puts the thyroid into “overdrive”. And the last condition affects the brain and spinal cord.  Although the diseases seem pretty different, there is one common denominator.  They are all believed to be autoimmune diseases.

A major difference between degenerative arthritis, or the most well-known type, and having an Autoimmune Arthritis disease is that pain from degenerative arthritis is felt after damage has occurred, because the damage is a result of the wearing away of cartilage.  In Autoimmune Arthritis, pain is first felt often years before any damage is visible.  The onset of inflammation often is describe as feeling like an injury, such as a sprain and therefore is sometimes treated as such.

The Fellowship in Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Functional Medicine Advanced Immune Therapies Module will be offering June 6 – 8 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina and will discuss arthritis and autoimmune disease as well as various other topics.  http://www.a4m.com/anti-aging-conference-san-diego-2013.html

Educating yourself about the symptoms and dangers of the disease as well as being physically active, and protecting your joints can all save your body from becoming a victim of Arthritis. The best way to keep your bones and joints healthy is to maintain a healthy weight. Exercising, strength conditioning, a healthy diet, consuming the right vitamins and calcium, and less caffeine are some factors that contribute to staying healthy and avoiding Arthritis.

Medical professionals from seven different countries, 37 different states in the union, and several different specialties in the medical field will convene at San Diego’s Marriott Hotel and Marina the second weekend in June for a continuing education conference on Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy, Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Fellowship on Regenerative and Functional Medicine and Cancer modules, Sexual Health Certification, as well as Board Certification Exams. Doctors who are seeking to achieve their Fellowship in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine (FAARM), can attend several different modules during this three day event.

Different topics and objectives will include FAARM Module V: Clinical Intensives, Module XVI (B): Metabolic Cardiovascular Certification, Module XIX (C): Sports Medicine, Module XXI: Advanced Immune Therapies, and Module VI: Integrative Cancer Therapies.  In the Fellowship modules offered, speakers will discuss new nutritional treatments for several different conditions varying from cancer to depression to Alzheimer’s. Information will include the most up to date nutritional treatment modalities for more than 50 conditions.  Additionally, to understand and review treatments and factors of cardiovascular disease as well as review case histories and gain the ability to treat that particular studied patient the next day from a metabolic and anti-aging medicine approach.  Any sports medicine professional in attendance will discuss growth hormone in athletes, sports nutrition, hormonal influences as well as the effects of “ultra-exercising.”  Finally, life-style signaling including diet, physical activity, stress, sleep and the metabolic treatment approach to different conditions will be discussed  Module VI from the Fellowship in Integrative Cancer Therapy,  will instruct doctors how to manage a full Integrative Cancer Therapy practice and teach about different therapies and treatments.  In the BHRT workshop, doctors will learn how to analyze medical evidence relating to hormone optimization, deficiency, replacement, adrenal fatigue, excesses, and case studies.

In the Sexual Health Certification, Jennifer Landa, MD, OBGYN, Sara Gottfried, MD and Michael Krychman, MDCM will lead discussions allowing attendees to learn how to diagnose, evaluate and treat sex health disorders. Treating sexual health issues when other medical conditions are involved is complex and theses speakers will educate other doctors on how to.

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) offers exclusive membership to all medical professionals where they gain access to over two-decades of established medical expertise.  We are also dedicated to educating physician and scientists and are proud to be in our 21st year of providing first-class continuing education conferences on anti-aging issues, regenerative and functional medicine.  To further demonstrate our commitment to the future of medicine, the shared responsibility for patient outcomes and transforming health education through innovation, we offer Board Certifications and Fellowship Training Programs in various disciplines ranging from anti-aging, regenerative and functional medicine to such disciplines as aesthetic medicine, skin cancer and stem cell therapy, in order to lead the industry by establishing best practice standards in these areas.

Traditionally, women are responsible for overseeing the health and well-being of their families. This is an important job, so how can these moms make sure their families are healthy if they aren’t prioritizing their own health as well?

May 12-18^th has been officially named National Women’s Health Week by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. According to the womenshealth.gov website, this week has been established to promote the importance of women’s health while empowering and encouraging woman everywhere to make their own health a priority.

The organization has also listed the “Five Steps to Improving Women’s Physical and Mental Health”:

1. Make it a point to get regular checkups and preventive screenings from your healthcare professional.
2. Get active.
3. Eat Healthy.
4. Pay attention to mental health; get plenty of sleep and manage stress properly.
5. Avoid unhealthy and unsafe behaviors.

The one step that seems to be a constant theme when discussing women’s health is that receiving regular checkups and screenings from a doctor is very important. This can help with the detection of serious conditions such as heart disease (the leading cause of death in women,) diabetes, cancer, mental illnesses, and STD’s, just to name a few.

Overall, besides preventing serious health problems, this week is promoting simple, every day, healthy habits such as exercising, maintaining a balanced diet and healthy emotional state, as well as wearing your seatbelt, applying sunscreen, and generally taking care of your body. All of this will lead to healthy aging and longevity.

Learn how to help your patients take stock of their health head to toe. Promote and encourage your female patients to take the pledge today, Monday May 13, 2013, by promising to schedule a visit for a regular checkup during the month of May.

For an interactive, first- hand experience at learning about overall health and prevention, attend A4M’s BHRT Symposium June 5-8 in San Diego or September 18-21 in Boston.

For more information, visit http://www.a4m.com/anti-aging-conference-bhrt-san-diego-2013.html or http://www.a4m.com/anti-aging-conference-boston-2013-sep.html