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Rheumatology Center of New Jersey Blog View all posts

Heal Your Overuse Injury Faster with PRP Therapy
When you suffer an overuse injury, you want to get back in the game ASAP. You can do it with one simple addition to your recovery protocol: platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. PRP helps you heal faster and better. Here’s how.
Sep 1st, 2023

Men Can Get Osteoporosis, Too
When you think about osteoporosis, you probably think about women with dowager’s humps or broken hips. But men can suffer from osteoporosis, too, particularly after age 65. Unfortunately, most men aren’t aware they’re at risk.
Jul 2nd, 2023

The Worst Foods to Eat If You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis
When you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), your body attacks its own joints. Even though there’s no cure for RA, you can control it with medications, physical activity, and even the foods you eat. To keep pain at bay, avoid the following foods.
Jun 1st, 2023

All Your Questions About Gout Answered
If you have gout, you may wonder why. Sometimes called the rich man’s affliction, gout is associated with wealth and the male sex. But gout can affect anyone. If you have questions about why you have gout, the answers are here.
May 2nd, 2023

What To Do About Osteoporosis
You’re shocked when a DXA scan reveals that you have osteoporosis. Whether you’ve already suffered a fracture or not, the loss of bone density that characterizes osteoporosis puts you at greater risk for fractures in the future. What should you do?
Apr 1st, 2023

The Link Between Sleep and Arthritis
You know that you need good, deep, restorative sleep so you feel alert, vibrant, and focused all day. But did you know that your joints need sleep, too? In fact, if you have arthritis, improving your sleep may improve your joint pain.
Mar 1st, 2023

Understanding Your Lupus Triggers to Prevent Flare-ups
A diagnosis of lupus upends your life. Not only do you have a chronic, incurable autoimmune disease, you must adopt new habits and avoid others if you want to reduce your chances of a flare-up. Here’s how to find — and avoid — your lupus triggers.
Feb 1st, 2023

How (and Why) To Take Care of Your Bones After 40
Weak bones put you at risk for fractures and subsequent mobility problems. No matter how old or young you are, it’s never too late (or too early) to take care of your bones. But once you hit 40, the need for bone health increases. Here’s why.
Dec 1st, 2022

6 Different Injections for Rheumatoid Arthritis
You can follow a healthy diet and be active, but if you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), your joints may still be painful, swollen, and stiff. You don’t have to swallow painkillers daily to get relief; injections and infusions last for weeks.
Nov 1st, 2022

How Physical Therapy Can Get You Moving Again
Whether you’re recovering from surgery, suffered a traumatic injury, or have a chronic disease, you may be in such pain that just the thought of moving makes you wince. Physical therapy provides the kind of movements that help you heal.
Oct 5th, 2022

Is This What's Causing Your Inflammation?
You’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition that’s left you with inflammation throughout your body. Although the actual causes of autoimmune diseases are often unknown, we do know what triggers — and subdues — inflammation.
Sep 14th, 2022

Reduce Your Risk of Fractures with Prolia
If you’ve been diagnosed with osteoporosis, you may wonder how to increase your bone density and reduce your risk of fractures. If you take calcium and vitamin D and exercise every day, is that enough? Or is there something else you can do?
Aug 9th, 2022

5 Things That Put You at Risk for Lupus
Whether lupus runs in your family or you know somebody who has it, you may wonder, “Am I next?” Although nobody knows exactly what causes lupus, certain factors put you at increased risk for developing this autoimmune disease.
Jul 12th, 2022

What to Expect During Your Bone Scan
If you’re ready for your first bone scan, you may wonder what’s involved. Will it hurt? Does it take a long time? Do you have to prepare ahead of time? A bone scan is an essential part of keeping tabs on your health as you age. Here’s what to expect.
Jun 1st, 2022

The Link Between Sun Sensitivity and Lupus
If you have lupus, chances are you’re extra sensitive to the damaging effects of the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. While everyone should limit their UVA and UVB exposure to minimize skin cancer risk, when you have lupus, the stakes are even higher.
May 1st, 2022

Is Arthritis Hereditary?
You love family gatherings for the good food, good vibes, and all the memories you share and make. But you’ve noticed something: A lot of your older relatives have arthritis. Their gnarled fingers and hobbling gaits worry you. Are you next?
Apr 1st, 2022

Eating Tips to Help Minimize Gout Flare-Ups
Gout is a form of arthritis in which needle-like crystals form in the soft tissues of your joints, particularly your big toe joint. If you’ve had an attack of gout, the last thing you want is another. Here’s how to reduce gout flare-ups.
Mar 1st, 2022

How to Prepare for Your Bone Densitometry
A bone density test measures the minerals in your bones. Also known as bone densitometry, this test lets us know if you have osteoporosis. Here’s how to prepare.
Feb 1st, 2022

Is Your Hair Loss Due to Lupus?
When you start losing your hair, you might think it’s just due to aging or to hormonal changes. But hair loss can be a symptom of a serious autoimmune disease called lupus. Untreated, lupus may damage your skin, organs, and joints.
Jan 1st, 2022

How PRP Therapy Can Help Clot Your Blood
When you get injured, your body goes into high gear to try to heal your wounds as quickly as possible. Part of the process is clotting your blood so you stop bleeding. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy helps you do it faster and better.
Dec 1st, 2021

5 Types of Arthritis

Do you have arthritis? If so, which type? If you don’t know, you may not be making optimal treatment and management decisions. Learn more about the different types of arthritis and how to manage them.
Oct 1st, 2021

Does Gout Only Affect the Big Toe?
Gout is a form of arthritis that typically affects the big toe. You may be most familiar with gout through TV and movies about people (usually men) who suffer from it. But gout can affect almost anyone and may appear in other joints, too.
Sep 1st, 2021

4 Potential Benefits of PRP Therapy
Platelet-rich plasma therapy takes holistic medicine and self-care to a whole new level by using your own blood components to fire up healing in your body. In addition to being natural and biocompatible, PRP has other potential benefits.
Aug 9th, 2021

Common Symptoms and Signs of Polymyalgia Rheumatica
As you age, it seems the bad news never stops. In addition to osteoarthritis, once you’re over 50 you’re at risk for another condition that affects the way your joints and muscles feel: polymyalgia rheumatica. The good news is, you can get relief. Not only
Jul 18th, 2021

Do You Have Psoriatic Arthritis?
About a third of women, men, and children who have psoriasis develop a painful joint condition called psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which has symptoms that are similar to those of rheumatoid arthritis. Do you have PsA? Take this quiz to find out.
Jun 14th, 2021

10 Telltale Symptoms of Lupus
Lupus attacks the major organs in your body, including your skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. Because the disease affects such a wide range of systems, you may have a variety of symptoms. Read on for 10 hallmarks of the disease.
May 3rd, 2021

How Shoulder Pain Is Diagnosed
You’ve had it. Your shoulder hurts. You’ve tried painkillers, hot baths, and heating pads, but nothing’s helped. Before you can treat your shoulder pain, you need to find out what’s causing it. Here’s how.
Apr 1st, 2021

Understanding Myofascial Pain
If you have persistent muscle pain in the same spot, you could have a chronic pain condition called myofascial pain syndrome. Myofascial pain usually starts as an acute or overuse injury. Without treatment, you may go on to develop more pain.
Mar 2nd, 2021

5 Compelling Facts About Infusion Therapy
You’re in pain, but you can’t swallow medications, or perhaps oral medications aren’t working as well as you need them to work. Infusion therapy could be your best, most effective, and long-term solution. Here’s what you need to know.
Feb 1st, 2021

Can Changing Your Diet Prevent Gout Flare-Ups?
Your diet is what created your gout in the first place. So can diet help prevent gout flare-ups and pain? Yes, it can. Here’s what you need to do with your diet to keep your gout under control.
Jan 1st, 2021

8 Common Causes of Shoulder Pain
Whether you woke up with a stiff shoulder or you haven’t been able to move your arm freely for days, shoulder pain can severely restrict your lifestyle. Why is your shoulder so painful? A variety of factors could be in play.
Dec 1st, 2020

How to Manage Arthritis Pain During the Winter
You don’t need a calendar to tell you when it’s winter. Your joints do it for you. If you’ve noticed increased joint soreness and stiffness during colder weather, here’s what you need to know to keep yourself comfortable.
Nov 1st, 2020

The Link Between Menopause and Osteoporosis
Hot flashes and night sweats. Those are the symptoms that most women associate with the hormonal changes of menopause. But whether you suffer from overheating or not, menopause could be causing a silent health crisis: bone loss.
Oct 4th, 2020

Pain Caused by Inflammation? Here's How PRP Can Help
Whether you have acute inflammation because of an injury or you suffer chronic inflammation because of a medical condition, you’re probably in pain. Painkillers have their limits, and their side effects. There’s a better choice: your own blood.
Sep 21st, 2020

Tips for Managing Your Lupus This Summer
Everyone else is excited by the summer sun, beach weather, and fun times outdoors. If you have lupus, though, you may wish you could bypass summer altogether. If sunshine triggers your symptoms, here’s how to prepare.
Jul 20th, 2020

Is PRP Right for You? Learn How You Could Benefit
When you first heard about platelet-rich plasma (PRP), it may have sounded like a crazy treatment aging celebrities undergo to stay young. You might not have considered that PRP could make your joints young again. But could it?
Jun 12th, 2020

When Would I Need a Musculoskeletal Ultrasound?
Your knee hurts like mad and your doctor recommends a musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSKUS). What’s that? You know that ultrasound is used to evaluate pregnancies and check on your inner organs, but why would you need one for joint pain?
May 13th, 2020

Help! Is That Pain in My Toe Gout?
If your big toe hurts like the blazes, but you don’t remember stubbing it or injuring it, you could have a form of arthritis called gout. Stop gout pain and prevent another attack with a few easy steps.
Apr 22nd, 2020

The Best Treatments for Osteoarthritis
Sometimes you don’t know what’s worse: the arthritis pain or the medications you take to control it. If you have osteoarthritis, injectable treatments help you feel better and even improve the health of your joints — without upsetting your tummy.
Mar 1st, 2020

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Do Diet Changes Help?
Wouldn’t it be great to eat yourself back to health? If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you can’t cure it through diet alone. But avoiding inflammatory-promoting foods and adding in foods that support your immune system does control painful flares.
Feb 1st, 2020

Top Causes of Shoulder Pain
Even if you don’t swing a bat or paint houses, you can still develop debilitating shoulder pain. Your shoulder joint is a complex structure with many moving parts. Finding out which moving parts need treatment is the first step to being pain-free.
Jan 1st, 2020

Myths and Facts About Lupus
Getting a diagnosis of lupus is upsetting enough. But the amount of misinformation you hear about the disease, and the way those around you react to your diagnosis, can be upsetting, too. Following are the facts you need to know about lupus.
Nov 1st, 2019

Why Are Women More Susceptible to Osteoporosis?
You look and feel super strong and healthy. But without you even noticing, you could be developing osteoporosis, especially if you’re a woman. Osteoporosis puts you at danger for fractures, height loss, and the dreaded dowager’s hump.
Sep 30th, 2019

What Is Psoriatic Arthritis?
You’re not as spry as you used to be, but since your joints don’t bother you that much, you ignore the discomfort. If you have psoriatic arthritis, though, ignoring joint symptoms puts you at risk for permanent damage.
Sep 1st, 2019

How PRP Injections Can Change Your Life If You Have Joint Pain
Whether you have joint pain from an injury, overuse, or arthritis, you’re probably tired of relying on drugs to help you move in comfort. What if we could heal your joint pain with your own blood? That’s not science fiction — it’s PRP.
Aug 1st, 2019

Living With Lupus
When you’re one of 1.5 million people in the United States with lupus, taking charge of your health is your No. 1 priority. How do you manage your symptoms, avoid flares, and still have a rich and satisfying life? Here are a few tips.
Jul 10th, 2019

How Successful is Viscosupplementation for Knee Pain?
You’ve played hard, lived hard, and now your knees are paying the price. If you have knee pain from osteoarthritis, you may wonder if you’ll ever be able to move comfortably again. That’s where viscosupplementation can help.
Jun 1st, 2019

The Importance of Exercise When You Have Arthritis
It hurts so much when you move your stiff joints, you’d rather not move them at all. Since your doctor told you that repetitive movements is one of the reasons you got arthritis in the first place, resting a lot is a good strategy, right? Wrong.
May 1st, 2019

3 Reasons PRP Injections Have Gained So Much Popularity
At first, it sounds kind of vampirish: using your own blood to help your body heal? But when you consider alternatives, like surgery and long-term medication, it seems pretty appealing. Could that be why PRP keeps gaining popularity?
Mar 1st, 2019

How Arthritis Affects Your Body and What You Can Do About It
When you think of arthritis, you probably think of stiff, painful joints. It’s all that but can be so much more. Depending on which of the 100-plus types of arthritis you have, the joint disease can affect your eyes, skin, and organs, too.
Feb 1st, 2019

5 Tips for a Gout-Friendly Thanksgiving
Turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, pumpkin pie! While everyone else you know happily indulges in rich and delicious foods on Thanksgiving, you’re worried about triggering a gout flare-up. What should you do?
Nov 20th, 2018

Telehealth: The Advantages of Telemedicine
Struggles to get to the clinic? Trying to reduce your exposure to COVID-19, as well as other contagious illnesses, and still need to see your doctor? Telehealth is safe and easy — receive quality care from anywhere.
Apr 5th, 2023

The 5 Best and Worst Foods for Those Managing Arthritis Pain
Arthritis and joint pain can range from mild to severe and usually strikes at some point in everyone’s life. But by eating right, this condition can be greatly reduced. We'll offer valuable dietary tips to reduce arthritis and joint pain.
Oct 24th, 2018

Can Yoga Improve Mobility for Patients With Arthritis?
Practicing yoga reduces pain, increases flexibility, and improves your outlook on life so you keep moving. Learn about the numerous benefits of beginning a gentle yoga practice to reduce arthritis symptoms and gain physical and emotional momentum.
Sep 18th, 2018

What You Can Do To Help Prevent Osteoporosis
If you’re concerned about developing osteoporosis, there are steps you can take to help prevent it. The younger you are when you begin paying attention to bone health, the better.
Aug 27th, 2018

5 Tips for Traveling with Lupus
From crowded airports to jet lag, traveling can be stressful. For people living with lupus, that stress is compounded. However, successfully managing your condition provides added freedom to hit the road.
Jul 23rd, 2018