Arthritis is among the most common health conditions in the U.S., with over 54 million Americans affected and an estimated 78 million to be affected by 2040. Induced by inflammation of the joints, people with arthritis experience significant pain and stiffness, reduced range of motion, and even skin irritation around joints. So, how is arthritis pain managed?
Because arthritis is so common and there are no cures for most types, those with this condition must know their treatment options. Osteoarthritis can be extremely painful and must be managed responsibly and effectively.
What is Arthritis?
Arthritis is determined by tenderness or swelling in one or more of the joints in the body. The most frequent complaints of those with arthritis are joint stiffness and pain, which can worsen as you age age. The most common arthritis types are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. When you have osteoarthritis, the cartilage that covers the ends of your bones where they meet starts to wear away. This leads to ongoing stiffness and pain. Nevertheless, rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack various joints, starting in the actual lining of the joints and breaking them down over time.
What are The Types of Arthritis?
Based on the Arthritis Foundation, the disease affects more than 50 million people, and it’s currently the leading cause of disability across the country. It causes inflammation and pain and can affect one or multiple joints simultaneously.
Osteoarthritis
This is the most common form of this disease. This is caused when the joint cartilage wears down due to age or overuse. This leads to pain in the joint, as the cartilage no longer serves as the thick cushion that it once was. When there is no cushion, the bones rub against each other, which triggers joint inflammation.
This is typically easy to diagnose as the most commonly experienced form of the disease. A sudden injury to the joint can cause it or develop after a previous injury has fully healed. For instance, let’s say you were a football player in college who had undergone a harsh blow to the knee. You get treatment, recover, and return to the game. Even though the injury has healed, there may be damage to the cartilage or surrounding muscles, reducing support to the joint or altering the motion of the joint slightly. Consequently, it is still possible for you to develop this disease from that injury later in life.
The same applies to careers involving repetitive motion or overuse. For instance, if you are a carpenter who swings a hammer repeatedly as an essential part of your job, this disease can be produced in the joints of your hands or elbows. Being overweight may also increase your risk for this disease, as extra strain is placed on your hip and knee joints.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is quite common, even though it is not fully understood. It occurs as an autoimmune response, where the immune system mistakenly sees the joints as threats and attacks them. Medical history, environment, and hormones may all play a role in the development of this disease. Additionally, it is usually more common in females than in males.
Those suffering from this disease often report soreness around joints, which worsens after prolonged sitting, standing, or inactivity. Pain can worsen when you move, like when you bend your knees. You might notice clicking or popping sounds in the affected joint with movement, and the joint might be sensitive or painful to the touch. It can also result in pain when you exercise or work, which may disappear after you stop doing that activity.
Common Causes of Arthritis Pain
One of the main reasons for arthritis pain is inflammation. When your joints get inflamed, they can swell up, causing stiffness and pain in the affected areas. This condition is called inflammatory arthritis, which usually suggests some autoimmune disorder or an underlying infection within the body.
Osteoarthritis commonly occurs after repeated joint wear and tear. As we age, our joints become less flexible and more likely to be injured during everyday tasks such as walking or lifting heavy items. This eventually causes joint damage and, finally, osteoarthritis pain.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurs when the body’s immune system accidentally attacks healthy tissue within joints instead of protecting it from injury and infection the way it normally would. This disturbance in the body’s function eventually causes inflammation in the affected regions, resulting in signs and symptoms like joint damage and chronic pain.
Juvenile arthritis (JA) occurs in children ages sixteen and younger. The cause is unknown, but it’s thought to be caused by various factors, like environmental factors and genetic makeup. Common signs and symptoms often include fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
Whatever arthritis you have or your symptoms, speak with a licensed healthcare professional about your treatment options to lessen pain levels and improve your quality of life.
How is Arthritis Pain Managed?
There are various methods to handle arthritis pain, depending on the type of arthritis and how severe the pain is. Applying ice to the painful joints might help reduce the fluid in the nearby tissue, lowering pain and swelling. On the other hand, heat might increase blood flow around your joints to help heal the damaged tissue.
Many patients find comfort in using creams applied to the skin and pain-relieving drugs such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Medicines that reduce inflammation can also help ease arthritis symptoms for a while.
However, these home remedies are often only temporary; eventually, you’ll need prescription-strength medications or more advanced treatment methods to provide longer-lasting pain relief and better joint mobility.
Other Non-Drug Related Treatments
Non-drug-related treatments for arthritis, which include physical therapy, exercise, diet changes, and lifestyle modifications, have the risk of reducing inflammation and pain without medical intervention.
Lifestyle Modifications
Lifestyle modifications can also greatly impact the reduction of arthritis symptoms. Elevated stress levels are connected to more inflammation, so discovering relaxation methods can be helpful. Practicing yoga or meditation can improve mental health and lessen physical symptoms.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is commonly used as a treatment without medication. A skilled physical therapist will lead you through exercises to enhance how far you can move and strengthen your joints. They will also provide important guidance on protecting your joints from further damage.
Isolating Painful Joints:
Taking a break is often the most effective remedy for painful arthritic joints. Nonetheless, excessive lack of activity may exacerbate the issue by weakening the muscles around them.
Your physical therapist can help you focus on the painful joint so that you can stay active while seeking relief. Bracing offers natural pain relief for your arthritic condition. Depending on the location of your arthritis, a specific neck collar or wrist splint can also offer targeted support for that joint. By focusing on the painful area, you can continue your daily activities without being concerned about the discomfort you experience.
Building Range-of-Motion:
Anyone with arthritis knows how painful stiff joints can be with this condition. If you try to move the affected joint more than it can handle, you might feel anything from a slight ache to intense pain. Learning flexibility exercises during physical therapy gradually helps your joints become more flexible, and resistance exercises build up the muscles that support these joints. By engaging in these treatments, your entire physical therapy session will help reduce discomfort and improve your ability to move more freely.
Incorporating Manual Therapy:
Physical therapy involves more than specialized exercises. Manual therapy forms a vital part of many treatment plans in physical therapy. It includes hands-on techniques that comfort patients with arthritis and alleviate their pain. Manual treatments for pain relief often take up a substantial portion of a session for arthritic patients undergoing physical therapy.
Other treatments involve ice, heat, massages, and special machines to help sore joints. Your physical therapist can switch between heating pads and ice packs to naturally reduce pain. Specific massages improve blood flow and provide a comforting, warming feeling for areas affected by arthritis. Ultrasound devices deliver soothing heat deep into the affected joints. Regardless of the treatments recommended, you can take comfort in knowing that your physical therapist will design your treatment plan.
Moving in New Ways:
It isn’t always simple to anticipate which actions you will bring on arthritic twinges and sharp pains. Even something as easy as turning a corner while walking can make your arthritic shoulder tense and twist in a way you never even noticed before, leading to a jolt of pain that seems to shoot through you. Because of this, learning new ways to move is important to help you avoid some unwelcomed painful sensations throughout the day.
During physical therapy treatments, arthritic patients can learn which motions cause discomfort. Their physical therapists can also demonstrate new joint protection techniques to avoid unnecessary pain. These could be as simple as using a purse with a particular strap to take pressure off your wrists or exiting the car or bathtub differently.
If you have arthritic fingers, a PT can demonstrate how to carry objects using your palms instead of grasping them. Laying objects across the arms rather than carrying them in your hands is another normal technique. Throughout your treatments, you’ll also learn about the latest tools and gadgets to help make day-to-day tasks much less challenging.
Find Relief Today!
Each arthritis case is different. Because of this, your treatment plan will depend upon the location and severity of your condition and any physical limitations you may have. You will thoroughly assess which methods will provide optimum pain relief at your initial appointment. If you want a safe and quick way to treat your arthritis pain, please reach out to us today!
