What You Can Do If You Have Arthritis Pain
If you were to ask the average person what it
means to have rheumatoid arthritis or RA, they would probably think
first of deformed joints and pain. Modern therapies have greatly
reduced the amount of joint damage for the vast majority of
patients, but pain is still an issue. Some medications take
considerable time to work and pain control is important early on as
well as during flares.
Of course, the best treatment for pain is eliminating the cause of
it. In the case of RA, this means controlling the disease and the
underlying inflammation. Doing this reduces pain and reduces damage
that leads to chronic pain. For about 90% of RA patients, good
control of RA symptoms means good pain relief as well. However, that
still leaves the newly diagnosed and the unfortunate 10% in need of
analgesics and other pain control measures.
Acute pain is usually treated with traditional analgesics including
opiates like those found in codeine, hydrocodone and morphine to
name a few. Less severe pain may be treated with over the counter
medications and also by the use of NSAIDs or non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs. These are the drugs like ibuprofen,
naproxen, diclofenac, piroxicam, Celebrex and the like. These have
the advantage of treating the inflammation itself as well as
relieving pain and may be used as part of the protocol of treatment.
They have the disadvantage of irritation of the digestive system and
even blood loss or ulcers as a result.
Ordinary acetaminophen can be used for mild pain in RA and other
conditions. While it is easier on the stomach, it does not treat
inflammation itself. It might be chosen, for example, in a pregnant
patient for whom other drugs might be inappropriate.
Steroidal drugs also can ease pain by controlling inflammation.
Prednisone and other steroids can be given by mouth and are
sometimes injected directly into an affected joint to treat
inflammation directly. Such injections may also have a local
anesthetic included and provide extra pain relief. Local anesthetics
are also used to inject “trigger points” in select patients but are
more common in other rheumatic illnesses such as fibromyalgia.
Since RA pain may become chronic, complementary and alternative
therapies may also be added. Physical therapy and occupational
therapy can help a patient to be more comfortable and may use
assistive devices such as TENS units to control pain without drugs.
Some physicians employ herbal remedies and nutritional supplements
such as fish oils to help control pain. Others may refer patients
for chiropractic treatments or acupuncture.
When pain is a large part of an RA patient’s case, a visit to a pain
specialist is usually set up to get the best pain control with the
best quality of life. Pain is a relative for some RA patients but it
can be managed with the right combination of therapies for virtually
everyone.
Resources
General information about RA and symptom control:
www.medicinenet.com/rheumatoid_arthritis/article.htm
Arthritis Foundation Disease Center for RA:
www.arthritis.org/conditions/DiseaseCenter/ra.asp
Wikipedia information on RA and pain control:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheumatoid_arthritis
National Institute of Health comprehensive RA information:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/rheumatoidarthritis.html
Mayo Clinic information about RA alternative treatments:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/rheumatoidarthritis.html