Emirates Arthritis Foundation to host 'Power to Move - Action for Arthritis'
If you are interested in this topic, please visit our Orthopaedics conference
Arthritis sufferers will be urged to maximise their potential at an event hosted by the Emirates Arthritis Foundation (EAF) at the Park Regis Kris Kin Dubai, on World Arthritis Day, October 12. 'Power to Move - Action for Arthritis' will bring together 12 seminars and workshops, 12 performances and 12 foods made possible through the support of key sponsor Abbott Laboratories UAE.
EAF director of operations and patient support Katrina Thornely says the event is open to anyone interested in Arthritis and will both raise awareness of the disease and inspire those with the condition to take on new challenges.
"Power to Move will be a celebration of the unlimited potential of those with arthritis. They need to know that they are not defined by their condition, but can live a normal life with dozens of opportunities like everyone else," she says.
The event will blend activities, entertainment and education, in a continuous series of workshops, performances and presentations covering topics ranging from martial arts and dancing, to free food and beverage sampling, and information on personal life, pregnancy, cooking and fashion.
Presenters include both local and international experts and celebrities, like Arizona-based martial arts pioneer and international teacher Willie Lim and Swedish intimacy specialist Anna Ageberg, some of whom are arthritis sufferers themselves.
While most activities will be free, ticketed EAF fundraising events will include a lunch presentation by inspirational Arab mother-of-two, Suzanne al-Houby, a founding member of EAF who recently became the first Arab woman to reach the peak of Mount Everest.
Bookings for the lunch and the day's final event, a fundraising comedy cabaret and buffet at 8.30pm are available through Time Out.
Arthritis affects about one in five people in the UAE and early diagnosis is important for successful treatment. Contrary to popular belief, the disease does not only occur in the elderly, children and teenagers are also susceptible, with the most severe forms occurring mostly in younger people, and the average age of onset between 40 and 60 years.
A recent study by Dubai-based arthritis specialist and Founding member of EAF, Dr. Humeira Badsha, indicates that improved public awareness has resulted in timeframes for diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in the UAE reducing by 45 percent over the last four years, from 14 months to eight months. However, there is still room for improvement, with European countries like the Netherlands diagnosing the condition within just five months.
"Rheumatoid arthritis is the leading cause of disability and second most common cause for days off work. A young person who is left untreated will have a 50% chance of getting disabled within five years, but with prompt diagnosis and treatment there's little a sufferer can't do, as Power to Move will demonstrate," Katrina says.
For a full programme of events at Power to Move - Action for Arthritis go to the Emirates Arthritis Foundation website arthritis.ae or link to it on Facebook or Twitter for regular updates.
Source: AME Info