Best Treatments For ARTHRITIS Pain

There are two forms of arthritis: osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This article focuses on osteoarthritis, which is the most frequent form.

Osteoarthritis causes pain in the joints, especially the knees, hips, shoulders and back. It can affect almost any joint in the body. It is most often associated with aging, a long-term result of joint injury, and/or it is genetic. It can also occur as a result of repetitive work tasks, a sedentary lifestyle, or unknown causes.  If you have been diagnosed with this form of arthritis, you likely have been prescribed medication. This is effective for managing many arthritis symptoms but may not be the best or only treatment for you. 

Treatment Options For Arthritis Pain:

Medications

Glucosamine Chondroitin supplements

Fish Oil supplements

Other joint supplements

Physical Therapy

Exercise (in the water may be the most tolerable)

Injections

Bracing/Wrapping/Taping

Surgery (last option, only if all other treatments have failed and pain limits daily function)

How Movement Affects Arthritis Pain:

Even if you have joint pain, it is important to keep that joint moving! If not, it will get progressively stiffer and lose the ability to move in its full range of motion. The joint likely will hurt more if it is not moved for an extended period of time. Exercise is a big part of Physical Therapy treatment of arthritis joint pain. There are some options to make exercise less painful: ice, heat, in the water, and/or with medication. It is important to exercise without worsening the problem. For example, replace jogging with walking, bicycling or swimming. Or replace basketball with yoga or upper body weight training. 

Components of Arthritis Exercise:

1. Range of motion exercise: Move the joint in its full available motion, even if it is painful.

2. Strengthening exercise: Strengthen the muscles surrounding the painful joint, for added stability.

3. Flexibility exercise: Stretch the muscles and tendons to increase their length and allow for better joint motion.

Remember that your pain may be effectively managed with 1-2 months of Physical Therapy treatment! The arthritis does not disappear, but the symptoms may improve significantly. There may be some movements, exercises, postures, or strategies that significantly reduce your joint pain and enable you to do more activities with less pain! Aquatic Therapy (water therapy) may be ideal for you, especially if exercise out of the water is too painful to tolerate. If you belong to a gym, water aerobics may be your best option. Land exercises you may prefer are the stationary bike, walking, or the elliptical machine.

Can Arthritis Be Prevented?

The best way to prevent arthritis pain at an older age is to be healthy and active starting at a young age. Avoid traumatic injuries if possible. Maintain a healthy weight throughout your lifetime. Exercise regularly, including moving all your joints in their full available motions. Practice good posture in your youth and adulthood. Wear proper and supportive shoes with all exercising. Get routine physicals and notify your physician of all minor joint pain. Start a lifelong habit of healthy eating. 

Please comment below if you have found another effective treatment!

How Do I Manage Chronic Pain?

First, know your diagnosis. How can you treat a problem that has not been diagnosed? You will not know your traditional or alternative medical treatment options unless you have a specific diagnosis. Whether the condition is fibromyalgia, arthritis or cancer, there are treatment options available for you. Without a diagnosis, you will not receive adequate treatment. So pursue finding the answer for why you have chronic pain, which gives you the opportunity to accept the truth about your body. In that case, you can learn to live and thrive despite a painful diagnosis.

Second, know your body. You must identify the specific activities and movements that increase and decrease your pain and symptoms. You should be able to readily list your aggravating and relieving factors. That is helpful first for your physician, therapist or other healthcare practitioner as they develop your diagnosis and treatment plan.

Third, modify your lifestyle based on your list from #2 (aggravating and relieving factors). Here are some examples. 

a. Lie down on on your back for 10 minutes without a pillow and place ice on the painful area. This may give enough pain relief to get you through the afternoon of chores.

b. Avoid the chair that causes your back to hurt. Find another chair. Or if sitting in that chair for 1 hour causes your back to hurt, stand up and stretch every 30 minutes.

c. Sit in the back row of church so that you can stand up as frequently as needed. This may be the modification that enables you to get back to church again.

d. Do a specific exercise that decreases your pain, and repeat it every hour.

e. Consistently walk for 30 minutes per day because that keeps your pain better controlled.

f. The next time you buy a car, get one that is higher off the ground because getting in and out of a low car always aggravates your pain.

g. Cook for 15 minutes at a time if standing too long aggravates your pain.

Fourth, take medication as prescribed for a time period. If it is ineffective, follow up with your doctor to see what other medicine may be appropriate. Some medicine is most effective when taken consistently, so do not skip doses or days.

Fifth, comply with doctor's orders. This includes lifting restrictions, activity restrictions, lifestyle modifications, prescriptions and other medical treatments (such as Physical Therapy or chiropractic care). If you truly want to get better, what are you doing to make that happen? Are you doing the home exercise program from your PT?

Sixth, be sure you have exhausted your treatment options. Have you tried Physical Therapy, Aquatic Therapy, Chiropractor, Accupuncture, Massage Therapy, Exercise, Weight Loss, Medication, Natural Remedies, Vitamins/Supplements, Topical Rubs/Creams, Ice/Heat, Over-the-counter treatments, Injections, Diet changes, etc? 

Lastly, do your own research and be your own advocate. If you know the answer to #1, then find support groups, websites, books and articles on your diagnosis. Find out the best local or national specialists in your area of chronic pain.

Chronic pain is very difficult to live with, but you ARE still alive! God has blessed you with this life, so learn to best manage your pain so that you can fulfill your purpose for living!

Scary PAIN Statistics

Adults who had low back pain that lasted 1 day or more in 2009:

     26% of males, 30.2% of females    (1)

Adults who had neck pain that lasted 1 day or more in 2009:

     12.6% of males, 17.5% of females   (1) 

Number of non-institutionalized adults with diagnosed arthritis in 2009:

      52.1 million (which is 23% of adults in U.S.)  (2)

Number of ER visits for unintentional injuries/accidents in 2008:

      28.4 million   (3)

Number of unintentional injury deaths in 2007:

     123,706 (which is 41 deaths per 100,000 population)    (4)

Number of doctor/hospital/ER visits for injuries in 2006:

      80 million   (5)

DON'T BECOME ANOTHER PAINFUL STATISTIC! Here is my top 1 way to prevent each of the above problems.

1. Low back pain:  BODY MECHANICS!!!!

2. Neck pain:  POSTURE!!!

3. Arthritis: WEIGHT CONTROL!!!

4. Accidents/Injuries: SAFETY PRECAUTIONS!!!

5. Unintentional injury deaths: PERSONAL AND CORPORATE SAFETY!!!

References

(1) NHIS 2009 Vital Health Statistics. Pleis JR, Ward BW, Lucas JW. Summary health statistics for U.S. Adults: N.H.I.S. 2009 (provisional report). Vital Health Stat 2010; 10(249). 

(2) NHIS 2009 Vital Health Statistics. Pleis JR, Ward BW, Lucas JW. Summary health statistics for U.S. Adults: N.H.I.S. 2009 (provisional report). Tables 7,8.

(3) National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2008. Emergency Dept Summary Tables, Table 15.

(4) CDC Fast Stats. Source: Deaths: Final Data for 2007, tables B, 18.

(5) CDC Fast Stats. Source: Ambulatory Medical Care Utilization Estimates for 2007, table 7. Average annual 2006-2007. 

A case for PAIN PREVENTION

Why prevent pain? Why do you need to take the time to think about how to prevent pain? You are busy, and you have important things on your to-do list.

First, now is the time to think about pain. Think about it before it happens. If you think through every movement and every activity, you can prevent accidents, injuries and therefore prevent pain. You can prevent pain now, which will also prevent pain later in life. If you injure your knee playing soccer at age 20, you may end up with arthritis in that knee when you are 40. If you practice poor posture now, you will end up with back or neck pain in the future. If you are sedentary now, you may not be able to walk later.

Many accidents can truly be avoided. Have you ever been in a car accident? Think back to that day and how it all happened. Were you at fault? If so, is there something you could have done differently? Were you driving too fast or talking on the phone or trying to quiet the screaming kids in the back seat?

Think of the last time you hurt yourself. How did it happen? If you could rewind time, could you have done anything to prevent the pain? I propose that most injuries are preventable because I have worked with so many patients with preventable injuries over the years. So before you become my next patient, think ahead and practice pain prevention today!