Clare - I'm with the others in thinking Sinemet might help with the pain and stiffness. However, I could mention that Dick has had degenerative arthritis of the spine for years, and has to resort to anti-inflamatories like Naprosyn to help with the pain from that.. You might be interested in knowing that he saw a back surgeon who said for some reason he sees a lot of PWP with arthritis of the spine. He doesn't know of any studies, but thinks it's more common than in the regular population. Small comfort when you're in pain, huh? Margie cg for Dick, 54/17