The Joint Health Prescription: 8 Weeks to Stronger, Healthier, Younger Joints [Paperback]

James M. Rippe M.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 26, 2002

FOR THE FIRST TIME–A REVOLUTIONARY HOME PROGRAM THAT ACTUALLY REVERSES JOINT DISEASE

The human body contains one hundred and forty-three joints–those intricately fashioned connections that enable us to sit, walk, drive, chew, type an e-mail, and perform the thousands of other activities that occupy us every day. Though joints are designed to remain strong and flexible for a lifetime, in fact, joint problems are the leading cause of disability in the world. Until recently, medicine offered the millions of Americans suffering from osteoarthritis, rheumatic arthritis, gout, and many other acutely painful rheumatic ailments only a modicum of relief. Now, at last, there’s good news!

This groundbreaking book features the landmark study in which gelatin supplements not only helped patients relieve pain but actually restored their joints to better health. Dr. James Rippe presents a highly effective eight-week home program created specifically to increase the strength and flexibility of your joints. Inside you will discover

• Easy tests that measure your current joint health
• The various causes of and risk factors for joint problems
• Foods, supplements, and herbs that help prevent joint degeneration
• Exercises that reduce pain and increase your mobility
• Everyday activities that help keep your joints strong and lubricated
• Alternative practices that support your joint-health regimen
• The pros and cons of prescription drugs

The Joint Health Prescription is based on striking new thinking about joint disease–and everything you need to know to begin this safe and balanced program is here. In as little as eight weeks, you can regain freedom of movement and freedom from pain for a fuller, healthier, more active life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

FOR THE FIRST TIME–A REVOLUTIONARY HOME PROGRAM THAT ACTUALLY REVERSES JOINT DISEASE

The human body contains one hundred and forty-three joints–those intricately fashioned connections that enable us to sit, walk, drive, chew, type an e-mail, and perform the thousands of other activities that occupy us every day. Though joints are designed to remain strong and flexible for a lifetime, in fact, joint problems are the leading cause of disability in the world. Until recently, medicine offered the millions of Americans suffering from osteoarthritis, rheumatic arthritis, gout, and many other acutely painful rheumatic ailments only a modicum of relief. Now, at last, there’s good news!

This groundbreaking book features the landmark study in which gelatin supplements not only helped patients relieve pain but actually restored their joints to better health. Dr. James Rippe presents a highly effective eight-week home program created specifically to increase the strength and flexibility of your joints. Inside you will discover

• Easy tests that measure your current joint health
• The various causes of and risk factors for joint problems
• Foods, supplements, and herbs that help prevent joint degeneration
• Exercises that reduce pain and increase your mobility
• Everyday activities that help keep your joints strong and lubricated
• Alternative practices that support your joint-health regimen
• The pros and cons of prescription drugs

The Joint Health Prescription is based on striking new thinking about joint disease–and everything you need to know to begin this safe and balanced program is here. In as little as eight weeks, you can regain freedom of movement and freedom from pain for a fuller, healthier, more active life.

About the Author

James M. Rippe, M.D., is regarded as one of the leading authorities in the United States on preventive cardiology, health and fitness, and healthy weight loss. The author of 18 fitness, nutrition, and medical books, Dr. Rippe is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, with postgraduate training at Massachusetts General Hospital. He lives near Boston with his wife and three children.

Jacket design by Christina Gaugler
Jacket photograph by Bob Kraemer/Index Stock Imagery --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1ST edition (November 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345451171
• ISBN-13: 978-0345451170
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,192,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James M. Rippe, M.D., is regarded as one of the leading authorities on preventive cardiology, health and fitness and healthy weight loss in the United States. He is the founder and director of the Rippe Health Assessment, a series of comprehensive health evaluations for high performance individuals conducted at the state-of-the-art medical and fitness facility at Celebration Health in Orlando, Fla. He is also the founder and director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute, the largest research organization in the world exploring how daily habits and actions impact short- and long-term health and quality of life. He currently serves as the chairman for the Florida Hospital Institute for Lifestyle Medicine.
A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, with post graduate training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Rippe is an associate professor of medicine (cardiology) at Tufts University School of Medicine; an adjunct professor of exercise science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; an affiliate associate professor of medicine at the University of South Florida College of Medicine; and a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Central Florida's Center for Lifestyle Medicine, where he also serves as chairman.
Dr. Rippe has written more than 200 publications on issues related to medicine, health and fitness and weight management. He is also the author of 36 books, including 21 medical texts and 15 books on health and fitness for the general public. His book Healthy Heart for Dummies was the flagship book in the health division for the popular ' for Dummies' series. In 2004, Dr. Rippe collaborated with Weight Watchers when he wrote Weight Loss that Lasts. His most recent book, High Performance Health: 10 Real Life Solutions to Redefine Your Health and Revolutionize Your Life, reveals his distinctive 10-step mind, body and spirit program used by top executives and star athletes, including Joe Montana and Nolan Ryan, to supercharge their health and feel their best.
Dr. Rippe also edits a major textbook, Lifestyle Medicine, which teaches physicians about diverse aspects of cardiovascular medicine and the impact of lifestyle decisions on good health. His intensive care textbook, Irwin and Rippe's Intensive Care Medicine, is the world's leading textbook on intensive and coronary care.
Dr. Rippe's work has been featured on Fox News, The Golf Channel, NBC's 'The Today Show,' ABC's 'Good Morning America,' PBS' "BodyWatch," CBS Morning and Evening News and CNN, as well as in a variety of publications, including: The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal. He comments regularly on health and fitness for USA Today, American Health, The Boston Globe and Prevention. He served for three years as medical editor for the Television Food Network (TVFN). Dr. Rippe also regularly participates in health forums, chat room interviews and other educational efforts over the internet for various websites, and is on the advisory board at WebMD.com and the editorial board at Time magazine.
A lifelong and avid athlete Dr. Rippe maintains his personal fitness with a regular walk, jog and weight training program. He holds a black belt in karate and is an avid wind surfer, skier and tennis player. He lives outside of Boston with his wife, television news anchor Stephanie Hart, and their four children: Hart, Jaelin, Devon and Jamie. For more information, visit www.RippeHealth.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recovering from and Avoiding Joint Injury, June 27, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Joint Health Prescription: 8 Weeks to Stronger, Healthier, Younger Joints (Hardcover)

Summary: This book contains the results of a successful randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled test of nutrional supplements and exercise to treat knee problems. The results are formulated into an 8 week program of Knox NutraJoint (10 oz. a day fortified with vitamin C and calcium), exercise, stretching, and weight control. You also receive directions for how to work with physicians and alternative therapies for joint problems, and to build a program of maintaining joint health. In the test, many subjects improved on both this regimen and on the placebo, but those with moderate pain showed significant improvement and greater flexibility from the program test.

Review: The study that this book is based on is a well-designed and executed one to find ways to deal with the underlying causes of joint problems. Most physicians treat these issues with pain relievers alone. The research here is important, because more than half of all adults have joint problems. And joint problems are the leading cause of disability. At any time, a third of all adults are having problems with one or more joints. Frequent causes are loss of cartilage (the cushioning between the bones), injury, and stress (often caused by too much weight).

Prevention of joint problems is basically a function of exercising joints, keeping muscles strong, and having proper nutrition.

The book has a series of questions and tests that you can self-administer to diagnose the degree of your joint issues, and to design the appropriate exercise programs for your age, problems, physical fitness, and flexibility.

The Joint Health Prescription contains many stories of people who were helped by this treatment during the trials. Relief is not instantaneous. You may have to wait several weeks before you notice any differences. Those in the trials were quite good about following the program. Around 80 percent finished all 18 visits over 14 weeks, and those consumed 92 percent of the nutritional supplements. So, you probably really do need to be observant about doing these things.

I thought that the weakest part of the book related to losing weight. That's a bigger subject than can be handled in a book like this, but the material here is pretty good if overly focused on calorie counting. It also prescribes the same diet for everyone, which doesn't appear to work very well from the research behind Live Right 4 Your Type. You may wish to use that book as a resource instead if you need to lose some weight to reduce stress on joints.

Dr. Rippe also operates a center for these problems in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts so you can also visit there for testing and diagnosis.

I hope that many other common problems will receive research on nutrition and exercise as well. I wonder if other common ailments would respond equally as well. Dr. Dean Ornish showed that he could help people reverse heart disease and pain of angina with diet and exercise. Perhaps many of our diseases that the aged population suffers from are really the result of bad diets and lack of exercise.

After you read and apply these lessons, I suggest that you think about whether your mind is getting as much exercise as your joints need. Are you feeding your mind with high quality reading material? Are you examining heavier material from time to time in your reading? Are you stretching your thinking to create greater flexibility in what you do? And . . . are you finding ways to read and exercise at the same time? I like to read while on the treadmill.

"Use it or lose it."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Changed My Life!, June 15, 2001

By 

Patricia Becker (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Joint Health Prescription: 8 Weeks to Stronger, Healthier, Younger Joints (Hardcover)

My joints have hurt me for the last 5 years, they were so bad that I could not even walk my dog. I read about this book in a newspaper article and thought I would try out the program. There are simple tests to get you started and help make you aware of lifestyle changes that need to be made. A great suggestion in the book is adding supplements to your diet. The author suggested using a joint supplement, Knox NutraJoint, which he used in a study last year. I have been following the 8 week program and adding the NutraJoint to my morning OJ and my joints feel better than ever. Better yet, Maddie and I are back out on the pavement with no pain. Thanks Dr. Rippe!

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very basic book, September 8, 2001

By 

Richard Gomez (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Joint Health Prescription: 8 Weeks to Stronger, Healthier, Younger Joints (Hardcover)

This is a typical basic book with no real help or new dicoveries. There has got to be a better book out there.