ACT Launch of Arthritis Awareness Week

Chief Minister and Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher, today launched the 2012 ACT Arthritis Awareness Week, a national initiative to support and inspire those with arthritis to positively manage their condition, and to raise awareness of arthritis in the wider community.

Arthritis Awareness week is an initiative of Arthritis Australia and this year's theme is Osteoarthritis - Imagine what you could do without joint pain.

"More than 30% of Australians - adult and child, male and female - will be affected by arthritis or some form of musculoskeletal condition during their lives," the Chief Minister said.

"Arthritis is the major cause of disability and chronic pain in Australia, with 3.85 million Australians affected at a cost to our economy of more than $23.9billion each year in medical care and indirect costs such as loss of earnings and lost production.

"Osteoarthritis affects the cartilage in joints and is the most common type of arthritis," the Chief Minister said.

Arthritis Awareness Week is supported by the Arthritis Foundation of the ACT (Arthritis ACT), a not for profit organisation which has been operating in the community since 1977 with the aim of improving quality of life for people with arthritis, osteoporosis and other musculoskeletal conditions.

"The ACT Labor Government has provided over $160,000 of funding in the 2011-12 financial year to Arthritis ACT, which offers self management courses designed to help ACT residents improve their overall health and quality of life," the Chief Minister said.

"Arthritis ACT help develop the skills to empower and enable self-management of long-term conditions more effectively day-to-day.

"This funding assistance also assists the Warm Water Exercise Program, a successful and well established hydrotherapy program that delivers over 720 warm water exercise sessions annually throughout Canberra.

"Physical activity is also a key component to the successful management of osteoarthritis and attendance at the sessions provides much needed therapy for Canberrans who suffer from Arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions," the Chief Minister concluded.

For more information on how Arthritis ACT could help you, please see the Arthritis ACT website: http://www.arthritisact.org.au/