by: News Canada

"No pain, no gain"

(NC)-Nowhere is this familiar refrain truer than in the grueling arena of competitive bodybuilding - a highly specialized form of training in which muscles and physical stamina are regularly pushed to the extreme. So it didn't seem unusual when Brent Felstead, a competitive bodybuilder, began experiencing numbness and weakness following his training sessions.

In 1997, Brent was a 31-year-old husband and father of one son. The busy electronics engineering technologist and amateur bodybuilder from Kanata, Ontario never thought he might have a disabling disease of the central nervous system. After all, he was accustomed to dealing with training injuries, aches and pains.

It wasn't until two years later, when his symptoms became too distinct to ignore, that he went to a doctor. In a matter of weeks, he had gone from a mild limp, to losing all mobility in his right leg and numbness spreading to most of the right side of his body. In October 1999, following an MRI scan, Brent Felstead was diagnosed with MS.

"I live with multiple sclerosis every day, and my goal is for the disease to affect my life as little as possible," said Brent Felstead.

Because Brent was determined to carry on with his family, work and bodybuilding, he selected a treatment that was both effective and that would ensure his quality-of-life. Brent chose Avonex® (interferon beta -1a), which is only taken once-a-week, where other treatments require injections daily or every other day. In addition to the once-a-week convenience, a recent Environics study showed MS patients taking Avonex® had much fewer injection site reactions or initial flu-like symptoms.

"Because Avonex® is injected into the muscle, I don't get unsightly reactions, which is important for my appearance in competitions," said Brent. "And with a once-a-week treatment, I never forget to take it and I only experience tiredness for about a day after the injection. That means I have the energy to keep up with my work, be an active dad and continue to train effectively."

About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.