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Leading the fight for arthritis in
the UAE, the Middle East Arthritis
Foundation (MEAF) hosted their
annual event at Shangri-La Hotel, to
raise awareness and education about
rheumatic and musculoskeletal
diseases (RMDs) in the region.
In line with this year’s physical
activities focus, the event included
fitness trainings and yoga sessions
as well as open discussions with
patients. Leading keynote and
session speakers delivered talks
on medication and treatments,
resetting your immune system
and an in-depth session on back
pain. Attendees were offered
complimentary hand scanning
for Arthritis and Bone Density
scanning for Osteoporosis.
Commenting on the event,
After becoming the first Emirati
to qualify for the IRONMAN 70.3
World Championship, historic athlete
Abdulrahman Alhosani has set his
sights on a more local and light-hearted
challenge after signing up for a charity
run at Zayed Sports City (ZSC).
The local athlete qualified for the 2017
IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships,
which will be held in Chattanooga,
Tennessee (USA) by placing 12th overall
of his family take part
in the event, Alhosani
says that age is only a
number: “My 57-year-
old father started
running 18 months ago
and has lost more than
25kg as a result,” said
Alhosani. “My children
who are aged five and
nine started with junior
fun runs, and now
they take part in more
competitive, longer-
distance runs. It’s never
too late to start a sport; if
you set targets, you can
achieve anything.”
In its fourth year,
the event continues
to inspire those who
are raising money
for friends, family or
community members
who have been affected
by breast cancer.
The race is open to
individuals from all
walks of life with the
Dr. Humeria Badsha, Founding
Member of the Middle East Arthritis
Foundation said, “We strive to
improve the quality of life for people
with arthritis through training,
prevention, control and cure of the
disease. With such amazing support
from the community, we look forward
to pursuing our vision of increased
awareness, reduced time to diagnosis
and most importantly early treatment
to help lessen the impact on a patients
overall life."
Arthritis affects hundreds of millions
of people worldwide; with the number
of people aged over 50 years expected
to double by 2020, the burden of
musculoskeletal diseases is expected
to rise.
In the UAE, studies have shown a
delay to diagnosis of 1 year due to
in his age group (30-34) at the IRONMAN
70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship last
month
Alhosani is used to running, swimming
and cycling distances over a combined
110km, but the 31 year old took to the
10k track at Zayed Sports City with his
two young daughters and his parents on
October 14.
Commenting on having three generations
EMIRATI IRONMAN GOES PINK FOR CHARITY
clear message that whoever you
are, anyone can be affected by
the disease. All proceeds from
the race entries will go to Al
Jalila Foundation, non-profit
organization for promoting
medical education and research
in the UAE.
The Middle East Arthritis Foundation
and The UAE Community Come
Together To Raise Awareness
lack of awareness. With continued efforts such as this event,
the MEAF has shown leadership in raising awareness of this
condition which has resulted in shorter duration of disease.
Katrina Thornely, patient supporter and former EAF Director
of Operations and Patient Support says, “The most common
musculoskeletal conditions with the greatest impact on
society are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, low back pain,
osteoporosis, and limb trauma. These conditions are a leading
cause of absence from work, reasons for disability pensions,
and account for 20% of health utilization costs. However, with
early diagnosis and treatment, deformity and disability can be
prevented.”
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Nov/Dec 2016