By Dr. David Clark

2/8/24  Can prophy that keeps your joints happy also make you happier?  A group of German researchers looked at the effect of joint status and pain on depression, anxiety and stress using a mental health questionnaire.  They assessed the 379 patients for pain, pain persistence and pressure pain thresholds (PPT: a measure of how much pressure can be put on an infected joint before it starts to hurt).  They also used the Hemophilia Joint Health Score 2.1 (HJHS) to evaluate the patients. 

What they found is not surprising, the worse a patient’s pain and joint scores, the worse their mental health scores.  Therefore, it is of significant importance to take care of your joints.  [EAHAD abstract PO141]