The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 NewsACR Convergence
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
      • Psoriatic Arthritis
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Has the Time Come for Wellness Promotion in Rheumatology?

Has the Time Come for Wellness Promotion in Rheumatology?

March 15, 2021 • By Larry Beresford

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
VectorMine / shutterstock.com

VectorMine / shutterstock.com

Despite revolutionary advances in pharmacologic treatments for many rheumatic conditions in recent years, some patients still fail to reach a desired state of living with their disease, notes R. Swamy Venuturupalli, MD, FACR, a clinician and researcher in rheumatology, as well as the founder and director of Attune Health, a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based company that researches treatment for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

You Might Also Like
  • 2014 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting: Wellness Ultimate Goal in Rheumatology Patient Care
  • HealthKit Wellness App Holds Promise for Medicine, Rheumatology
  • Check Out the Wellness Pavilion at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
Explore This Issue
March 2021

“As a field, we rely on advances in immune modifiers and biologics to influence our patients’ immune systems,” he says. But a significant proportion of rheuma­tology patients won’t achieve remission. That drives them to explore over-the-counter products, sleep aids, yoga, tai chi, Pilates, acupuncture and a variety of dietary approaches. 

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

And that’s just scratching the surface, Dr. Venuturupalli says. “Many patients come to us with an interest in non-pharmaceutical, alternative or complementary approaches to managing their disease, some tested and some not.” Or, if they don’t think the rheumatologist will be open to discussing it, they may not even bring it up to the doctor. A lot of non-pharmaceutical approaches come under the broad category of wellness management. And wellness is a booming, patient-driven movement that includes lifestyle changes that could result in alleviating discomfort.

Enter the Rheumatologist

Dr. Venuturupalli

Dr. Venuturupalli

How do rheumatologists fit into this picture? “I often find patients questioning me and wanting my opinion on this approach or that. I have had to educate myself so I can answer their questions more intelligently, beyond the customary response that because it hasn’t been studied enough, we can’t say [anything about it]. Being a trusted source of information for my patients, somebody trained to test medical benefits in an impartial way, I need to give my patients a better answer than that,” Dr. Venuturupalli says.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

For Nicole Cotter, MD, a rheumatologist who recently moved her integrative medicine consultation practice from Shreveport, La., to Steamboat Springs, Colo., wellness is the best umbrella term for a variety of approaches to self-management and self-care, including diet, exercise and movement, stress reduction and mind-body medicine—which involves harnessing the mind to control stress and influence overall health and wellness. 

Dr. Cotter was convention­ally trained as a rheumatologist. She pursued a fellowship at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, after her patients asked such questions as: What should a person with arthritis be eating? What do you think about the purported benefits of turmeric?

“From the perspective of our training, we really have no [answers]. We usually say there are no data. But is that true?” she asks. 

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 | Single Page

Filed Under: Conditions, Practice Management Tagged With: Diet, Exercise, Integrated Care, Stress, wellnessIssue: March 2021

You Might Also Like:
  • 2014 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting: Wellness Ultimate Goal in Rheumatology Patient Care
  • HealthKit Wellness App Holds Promise for Medicine, Rheumatology
  • Check Out the Wellness Pavilion at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
  • Diet & Exercise: What’s the Economic Benefit for Overweight & Obese Patients with Knee OA?

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use / Cookie Preferences

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2023 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)