Osteoarthritis is not just a matter of finding drugs. There are many ways you can get pain relief for this chronic disease, without rushing to the drug cabinet. Most doctors now agree that arthritis pain relief should be as natural as possible to avoid side effects.
Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more of your joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis causes cartilage — the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint — to break down. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints.
What is the Reasons of Arthritis ?
Causes
The two main types of arthritis — osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis — damage joints in different ways.
Osteoarthritis
The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis involves wear-and-tear damage to your joint’s cartilage — the hard, slick coating on the ends of bones where they form a joint. Cartilage cushions the ends of the bones and allows nearly frictionless joint motion, but enough damage can result in bone grinding directly on bone, which causes pain and restricted movement. This wear and tear can occur over many years, or it can be hastened by a joint injury or infection.
Osteoarthritis also affects the entire joint. It causes changes in the bones and deterioration of the connective tissues that attach muscle to bone and hold the joint together. It also causes inflammation of the joint lining.
Rheumatoid arthritis
In rheumatoid arthritis, the body’s immune system attacks the lining of the joint capsule, a tough membrane that encloses all the joint parts. This lining (synovial membrane) becomes inflamed and swollen. The disease process can eventually destroy cartilage and bone within the joint.
Risk factors
Risk factors for arthritis include:
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- Family history. Some types of arthritis run in families, so you may be more likely to develop arthritis if your parents or siblings have the disorder. Your genes can make you more susceptible to environmental factors that may trigger arthritis.
- Age. The risk of many types of arthritis — including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout — increases with age.
- Your sex. Women are more likely than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis, while most of the people who have gout, another type of arthritis, are men.
- Previous joint injury. People who have injured a joint, perhaps while playing a sport, are more likely to eventually develop arthritis in that joint.
- Obesity. Carrying excess pounds puts stress on joints, particularly your knees, hips and spine. People with obesity have a higher risk of developing arthritis.
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the Treatment of Arthritis
Arthritis treatment focuses on relieving symptoms and improving joint function. You may need to try several different treatments, or combinations of treatments, before you determine what works best for you.
Medications
The medications used to treat arthritis vary depending on the type of arthritis. Commonly used arthritis medications include:
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- Painkillers. These medications help reduce pain, but have no effect on inflammation. An over-the-counter option includes acetaminophen (Tylenol, others).For more-severe pain, opioids might be prescribed, such as tramadol (Ultram, ConZip), oxycodone (OxyContin, Roxicodone, others) or hydrocodone (Hysingla, Zohydro ER). Opioids act on the central nervous system to relieve pain. When opioids are used for a long time, they may become habit-forming, causing mental or physical dependence. In some cases, doctors may recommend pain relievers for arthritis. Some people suffer from this condition to the point where they are debilitating. In those cases, your doctor may recommend this treatment for those in severe pain.
The problem with painkillers is that they are the patient to become addicted to drugs to get an increase in dose to cause the same results, ie. Analgesics are also very addictive. You can cause the person to feel increased pain when they get rid of addiction.
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- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs reduce both pain and inflammation. Over-the-counter NSAIDs include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen (Aleve). Some types of NSAIDs are available only by prescription.Oral NSAIDs can cause stomach irritation and may increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. Some NSAIDs are also available as creams or gels, which can be rubbed on joints.
- Counterirritants. Some varieties of creams and ointments contain menthol or capsaicin, the ingredient that makes hot peppers spicy. Rubbing these preparations on the skin over your aching joint may interfere with the transmission of pain signals from the joint itself.
- Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Often used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, DMARDs slow or stop your immune system from attacking your joints. Examples include methotrexate (Trexall, Rasuvo, others) and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil).
- Biologic response modifiers. Typically used in conjunction with DMARDs, biologic response modifiers are genetically engineered drugs that target various protein molecules that are involved in the immune response.There are many types of biologic response modifiers. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are commonly prescribed. Examples include etanercept (Enbrel, Erelzi, Eticovo) and infliximab (Remicade, Inflectra, others).
Other medications target other substances that play a role in inflammation, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), Janus kinase enzymes, and certain types of white blood cells known as B cells and T cells.
- Corticosteroids. This class of drugs, which includes prednisone (Prednisone Intensol, Rayos) and cortisone (Cortef), reduces inflammation and suppresses the immune system. Corticosteroids can be taken orally or can be injected directly into the painful joint.
- Muscle relaxants: Muscle relaxants are also used to fight against arthritis, but they may have the same results as painkillers. It is clear that other means of arthritis pain relief should be studied in order to keep people against the negative side effects of prescription drugs and OTC.
- heat treatment: heating treatments can work as well when it comes to relieving arthritis pain. Many patients find that making a heating pad and hot tub and sauna treatments wonders for pain relief. Paraffin treatment for hands and feet can also be a useful treatment for this condition.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs reduce both pain and inflammation. Over-the-counter NSAIDs include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen (Aleve). Some types of NSAIDs are available only by prescription.Oral NSAIDs can cause stomach irritation and may increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. Some NSAIDs are also available as creams or gels, which can be rubbed on joints.
These drugs over the counter and a negative effect on the digestive tract. Studies have shown that stomach ulcers and liver problems resulting from misuse of over the counter pain relievers may be caused. Stomach cancer, he was raised in this kind of harassment. Although, ideally counter medications to relieve pain that occurs from time to time, they can be dangerous if taken in high doses to treat chronic pain
Arthritis Therapy
Physical therapy can be helpful for some types of arthritis. Exercises can improve range of motion and strengthen the muscles surrounding joints. In some cases, splints or braces may be warranted.
Surgery
If conservative measures don’t help, your doctor may suggest surgery, such as:
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- Joint repair. In some instances, joint surfaces can be smoothed or realigned to reduce pain and improve function. These types of procedures can often be performed arthroscopically — through small incisions over the joint.
- Joint replacement. This procedure removes your damaged joint and replaces it with an artificial one. Joints most commonly replaced are hips and knees.
- Joint fusion. This procedure is more often used for smaller joints, such as those in the wrist, ankle and fingers. It removes the ends of the two bones in the joint and then locks those ends together until they heal into one rigid unit.
Healthy eating
eat the right foods can help to take nutritional supplements for arthritis. even though you want to treat this condition, you should look at the cause. Many people with arthritis are overweight. even though this is the case, then you do your body a favor if you lose weight.
Exercise
knee, lumbar support devices, and even massage can help arthritis. Exercise does not affect this condition, in fact, it can help you. Many doctors recommend to help all types of movement such as swimming, treat arthritis pain. Suffering even though you of arthritis, you feel pain. But rather than look in the drug cabinet to relieve arthritis pain, first, pain relief is more natural for this condition to avoid harmful side effects.