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Shirley Eaton health: Bond Girl said arthritis has ‘slowed’ her down – treatment advice

Shirley Eaton stuns in iconic Goldfinger moment

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In an interview back in 2014, the star revealed that her philosophy is that “every day can’t be tops” and said she was “very grounded” despite her losses. Despite this stoic attitude to grief, she yielded to her health condition.

The star, who uses a mix of painkillers and blood pressure tablets to treat her ailments, said that she no longer exercises and that she instead relies on her genetics to keep her looking in shape as she ages.

“I have a touch of arthritis in my legs which has slowed me down. I don’t do anything to keep fit now, but staying in shape is in the genes,” she said.

“I used to swim twice a week for a long time but gave that up about ten years ago.”

Arthritis, she suggested, was “inherited” from her mother who lived to the age of 90.

The two most common types of the condition are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis, which is the more common of the two, is caused when the cartilage that cushions the end of the bone in the joints deteriorates.

It is actually recommended by health professionals that people with arthritis keep up their activity level rather than reduce it, as Shirley did.

When people with arthritis don’t exercise it weakens the muscles which are supporting the joints. This puts more pressure on the joints, leading to further damage to the joint tissues.

Eventually, when the cartilage wears down completely, the joint will rub on the bone which is extremely painful.

Shirley, who takes paracetamol for her arthritis, suggested that the only pain she has gone through is from childbirth and that she hasn’t “really had to suffer much pain”.

But this is not the case for a lot of people with arthritis, who are in debilitating pain a lot of the time.

The star also revealed in the Mail Online interview that her “only vice” is smoking ten cigarettes a day–another activity that is bad for arthritis.

A study from 2002 published in Arthritis and Rheumatism found that smoking is likely to lead to genetic events which lead to more severe rheumatoid arthritis.

Another, by the University Hospital Aintree in Liverpool, found that smoking was “strongly associated” with the onset of rheumatoid arthritis in patients who had no history of the condition.

Eaton said that her arthritis was caused by genetics, which according to the Mayo Clinic is just one of several risk factors.

The chances of developing arthritis increase with age. Women are also more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis while men are more likely to develop gout.

Obesity is also another major risk factor. Having extra weight can put additional stress on joints, particularly knee and hip joints.

What can arthritics do to keep fit?

Exercising is the last thing an arthritic may want to do but there are ways to make it easier.

The Arthritis Foundation has recommended several exercises for people with arthritis, including swimming, golf, treadmill walking, and water walking.

These are all low-impact exercises, which put less stress on the joints than exercises like running.

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