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"When people ask me to describe what gout feels like, I'm at a loss forwords. I had some tough injuries in my playing career, but I've neverexperienced anything as painful as gout," said Coach Cheeks. "My publicstruggles with gout have placed me in a unique position to see how widespreadthe misperceptions about this condition are. If people understood just howpainful and debilitating gout can be, I think attitudes would change veryquickly."
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"Coach Cheeks' story reflects the alarming disconnect between the generalpublic's understanding of gout and the painful reality that so many peopleliving with the condition experience on a daily basis," said N. LawrenceEdwards, M.D., chairman of the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society, and aspecialist in rheumatology and professor of medicine at the University ofFlorida, Gainesville. "Gout is no laughing matter. It is a chronic diseasethat can lead to excruciating pain and long-term damage to your joints andkidneys if not managed properly."
Gout is caused by an accumulation of sodium urate crystals in the jointsand other tissues. These crystals form when there is an abnormally high levelof uric acid in the blood (a condition known as hyperuricemia). Most expertsagree that lowering a person's uric acid level to less than 6.0 mg/dL ishelpful to prevent the painful consequences of gout.
"Unfortunately, the intense pain associated with gout is just the tip ofthe iceberg," added GUAES board member H. Ralph Schumacher, Jr., M.D.,professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,and rheumatologist at the VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."Untreated gout and prolonged hyperuricemia can lead to an accumulation ofneedle-like urate crystals that not only cause the acute attacks typical ofgout, but also can eventually lead to permanent joint damage and even todeposits that bulge out from under the skin (tophi). People with gout are alsoat higher risk for kidney disease and cardiac problems, including high bloodpressure, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure."
Coach Cheeks and the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society have developed athree-part "gameplan" to help people with or at-risk for gout take control ofthe condition:
About Gout
The most common inflammatory arthritis in men over the age of 40, gout ischaracterized by sudden and severe episodes of pain, tenderness, redness,stiffness and swelling of joints. Gout is most often felt in the large jointof the big toe, but it can affect other joints such as the instep, ankle,heel, knee, wrist, finger and elbow. Today, approximately three to fivemillion Americans suffer the pain and inconvenience of gout, but the good newsis that gout can be managed and controlled with medication and throughadjustments to diet and lifestyle.
Formed in September 2005, the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society has acomprehensive educational brochure, as well as a user-friendly Web site forpatients, caregivers, family members and health care providers. For moreinformation about gout and the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society, pleasevisit www.gouteducation.org.
About the National Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is the only national nonprofit organization thatsupports the more than 100 type
