There's a surprising amount of information in this small book. It gives a quick overview of information about arthritis, and a lot of different solutions to try. I'd recommend it to anyone who has arthritis and wants to try solutions other than drugs.

In The Arthritis Handbook Dr. Cooper presents a take charge approach for individuals suffering with osteoarthritis. His plan focuses on managing the symptoms of osteoarthritis using nutrition, exercise, and dietary supplements, while recommending surgery and medication only when other approaches have failed. I am most impressed that Dr. Cooper recommends complimentary approaches to managing arthritis such as the practice of Tai Chi, which is also endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation.

The book is not a typical arthritis help book – it is peppered with personal and cultural references that are as informative as they are amusing. The book also includes a glossary to help readers understand medical terminology and a list of websites for readers to learn more about osteoarthritis. Overall, the best aspect of the book is that it encourages patients to communicate with healthcare professionals, and notes key times when patients should seek professional advice.

Despite the fact that the information in the book is sound, the book is somewhat disorganized and at times seems to be addressing two separate audiences. Also, I would have liked to have seen a detailed reference list of the studies described in the book. Ultimately these stylistic shortfalls do not detract from the promising message of the book – osteoarthritis can be managed by lifestyle changes that are described in the book. ( )

This book arrived just before I injured my leg and discovery that I had the early signs of arthritis. That is not surprising since there is a family history of mild arthritis and the combination of weight, diet, and (insufficient) exercise as contiributing factors.

The book is divided into four sections, plus a brief glossary of medical terms and an excellent index. The book is presented in a manner to make it a quick read but still conveys a great deal of information that is not overly technical for the average person to understand.

Part I contains the most medical terminology while describing the mechanical aspects of the body joints. The brief chapter on the diagnosis discusses various presenting symptoms and the importance of their review to complement the physical exam and x-ray review by a physician.

Part 2 provides not only a refresher on good nutrition but a realistic approach for those who need to make substantial changes in their daily eating habits. It does not contain a prescriptive diet, but rather suggestions of how one can gradually change eating habits to fit within daily life as one begins to evolve into a healthier approach to eating.

Part 3 is the largest section comprised of individual chapters on stretching, strengthening, and aerobic exercises. Sadly, most gyms focus on strenthening exercises and do not demonstrate or explain the importance of stretching exercises. My recent leg injury and subsequent physical therapy experience taught me more about stretching exercises than I had ever heard before. It is good to see this section in the book with the explanation of which body part each stretching exercise is focused. The explanation and photos also helped to reinforced what I learned in physical therapy.

Part 3 discusses both natural (dietary) and over-the-counter supplements. Part 4 closes the book with a discussion of the medical treatment options. It also includes a good list of questions to ask when exploring any surgical options.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever experienced any muscle/joint pain and especially anyone over age 30. It helps to reinforce what you learned (or should have learned) at home or at school while growing up about general health and exercise. But more importantly it emphasizes the importance of proper stretching and strengthening exercises. I know I will use some of what I learned in any future exercise class or evaluating a gym. ( )

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 The Essential Guide to a Pain-Free, Drug Free Life but he necessarily concludes with a section on medication and surgery. He emphasizes that these options need to be done in conjunction with diet, exercise, and nutritional supplements. An analgesic will mask the pain but do nothing to correct the underlying disease causing the pain.

Dr. Cooper’s book is a excellent, readable resource for to establish both a preventative as well as a management program for dealing with arthritis. ( )

Although I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis a few years ago, I never paid much attention to it. All it meant to me was that my feet and ankles felt stiff in the morning and that sometimes the joints in my hands ached. Then I got hit with an attack of sciatica that changed my way of thinking. I was in terrible pain, and when I went to the orthopedist, I told him, "I know that this can't be cured. All I want is to be able to manage it and to do what I can to slow the progression."

I got some good advice and treatment from my doc, and this little handbook came at just the right time. The explanations of joint anatomy and the effects of OA are uncomplicated but thorough, and I was happy to add the easy-to-follow exercises to those recommended by my physical therapist. The benefits of the dietary guidelines, too, are clearly explained and easily followed. While I hope to avoid surgery, the handbook also provides useful information in case I need it down the road.

All in all, The Arthritis Handbook is just what I needed to dispel the feeling of hopelessness I had experienced and to help me gain a sense of control over this disease. There are more detailed, more technical books available on this subject, but my advice is to save them for later and put this one to work for you now. I plan to take it with me to my next doctor's appointment. ( )