Q: A friend of mine just sent me your advice about exercise and arthritis. I guess she thought I might need it although I am a nurse. But being a nurse does not necessarily make me any smarter than anyone else and when it comes to my health I am rather stupid! I have had psoriatic arthritis for over 15 years and up until recently was doing great. In the last two years I have developed some additional problems that go along with having a very over active immune system.

My question to you is: While exercise is obviously a good thing, it can be very painful for me and the affected joints are my hands, back, hips and feet. I am a very young 55 and walk like I am 155! So along with a diet, I imagine mine is not the best, can you recommend any exercises or therapy. I am on Celebrex and Enbrel, but apparently they are not holding me any longer and I refuse to take any additional drugs!

Oh I think what you are doing with the goats is awesome! You are living my dream. I always wanted to make my own goat cheese!

A: People have often said that doctors make the worst patients. Perhaps you are extending that to nurses, too. Like everyone else, just because we know what’s best for us doesn’t mean we do it.

Exercise is the best therapy for arthritis, and as your muscles become stronger and support your joints better, exercising will become easier and your joint pain less. But you have to start somewhere. If walking is too painful, then find a pool and do some water aerobics (check at your local YMCA). Yoga is also a good starting point. If you are self-conscious to walk into a class, then start with a DVD. Gaiam.com has a very good selection for people at all levels.

Funny that you mention the goats. Someone was telling me the other day that their grandmother swore that drinking goat milk helped her arthritis. As far as I know, there’s no scientific proof of this.

Dr. Brent Ridge is the health expert for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. You can call and ask him a question live every Tuesday at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 112 (1.866.675.6675). You can also follow along as he learns to grow his own food and raise goats on his farm in upstate New York by visiting www.beekman1802.com.

Got a health question for Dr. Brent? E-mail him at drbrent@care2.com.