Arthritis Pain Has a Daily Cycle
 (HealthScoutNews, 11/13/02)

According to a study of 21 people with osteoarthritis of the hands as reported in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases Journal, the stiffness and pain of arthritis and the rhythm of a person's body clock are linked. For 10 days, at specific intervals throughout the day, subjects rated the degree of pain and stiffness they were experiencing and they also performed timed manual dexterity tests, like feeding beads through a narrow tube. For most patients, discomfort was less severe and dexterity was better, in the afternoon and worse in the morning and at bedtime. These findings suggests that an awareness of the time factor in pain and dexterity can help arthritis patients schedule daily activities and drug treatments more effectively.