A man, bent over his cane, shuffles into the lobby. He is having a bad day.
 
A woman makes her way to a seat, a walking stick dangling from her wrist. She is having a good day.
 
Others in the audience look healthy, but their concern about the subject matter betrays their appearance.
 
They have come to Providence Health Center's Joint Camp to hear about arthritis of the knee and hip. For the next hour or so they hear the good news … and the bad.
 
The nurse makes no bones about it. There is no cure, but there is treatment. The condition is chronic, but the cause is unknown. There are many relief-giving therapies, yet the myth persists that nothing can be done to help.
 
Those in the audience ask frequent questions …
 

“Why are my knees stiff in the morning?”
“The pain goes down my leg. What causes that?”
“My hip pain is sharp and burning … is that arthritis?”
“Why do my knees hurt when I go downstairs?”

 
They have listened to their bodies and we are translating.
 
With up-to-date and down-to-earth information, we explain which medicines, activities and foods are good for arthritis and which aren’t. And how to tell when knee or hip pain is not arthritis, but the result of tendonitis, bursitis or poor muscle tone.
 
If you have knee or hip pain, don’t get upset, get informed!