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This Month's Research About Arthritis Pain and Sciatica Pain Information & Treatment via The Pain Advisory Board

Arthritis Pain, its Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention and for your Pain Condition

It's time to start dealing with your arthritis pain starting today , so don't delay seeking pain relief any longer by learning more about arthritis now. New arthritis and pain information caused by arthritis and arthritis treatment options.

What Is Arthritis?

The word arthritis literally means joint pain and inflammation but is typically the word used to refer to a group of more than 100 rheumatic arthritic disease conditions causing pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints or tendons.

Arthritis may affect not only the joints but also other parts of the body, including important areas like the bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments, as well as certain internal organs. This arthritis pain site mostly is targeted on arthritis-pain caused by 2 most common types of arthritis pain, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Exactly What Is Pain?

Pain is the body's warning system, alerting you something is wrong. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines it as an unpleasant experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage to a person's body. Nervous system neurons transmit Arthritis pain can be real painful and troubling Arthritis Pain signals are found in skin and body tissues. These cells respond with pain signals to things such as injury or tissue damage.

For example, when harmful agents like a sharp knife comes in contact with your skin, chemical signals travel from neurons in the skin through nerves in the spinal cord to your brain, where they are interpreted as pain. For more information on chronic pain pay a visit to fibromyalgia center. You may also want to learn more regarding medicare education.

Most forms of arthritis pain can be divided into two general categories: acute pain and and chronic pain. Acute pain is temporary. It can last a few seconds or longer but wanes as healing occurs. Some examples of things cause acute pain include burns, cuts, and fractures. Chronic pain, such as seen in people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, ranges from mild to severe and can last weeks, months, and years, even lasting a lifetime.

How Many People in North American Suffer from Arthritis Pain?

Chronic pain is a major health problem in the USA and Canada and is one of the most serious health effects of arthritis. More than 45 million North Americans are affected by some form of arthritis and its pain, and many have chronic pain limits daily activity. Osteoarthritis is by far the most common form of arthritis, affecting over 23 million sufferers. Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects almost 3 million people is the most disabling type of arthritis.

What Causes Arthritis Pain? Why is it Widely Variable?

The pain of arthritis may come from different sources. These may include inflammation of the synovial membrane (tissue lines the joints), the tendons, or the ligaments; muscle strain; and fatigue. A combination of these factors contributes to the intensity of arthritic-pain.

The pain of arthritis varies greatly from person to person, for reasons doctors do not yet understand completely. Factors contribute to the pain include swelling within the joint, the amount of heat or redness present, or damage has occurred within the joint. In addition, activities affect pain differently so some patients note pain in their joints after first getting out of bed in the morning, whereas others develop pain after prolonged use of the joint.

Every person has a different level of pain and pain tolerance, often affected by both physical and emotional factors. These can include depression, anxiety, and even hypersensitivity at the affected sites due to inflammation and tissue injury. This increased sensitivity appears to affect the amount of pain perceived by the individual. Social support networks can make an important contribution to pain management.

How Do Doctors Measure Arthritis Pain?

Arthritis pain is a private and non-visible experience. The most common way to measure arthritis pain is for the doctor to ask you, the patient, about your difficulties. For example, the doctor may ask you to describe the level of pain you feel on a scale of 1 to 10. You may use words like aching, burning, stinging, or throbbing. These words will give the doctor a clearer picture of the pain you are experiencing.

Since doctors rely on your description of pain to help guide treatment, you may want to keep a pain diary to record your pain and dates. You can a few weeks prior to your next scheduled doctors visit. On a daily basis describe the situations causing or changed intensity of the pains, the sensations and how severe was your pain, and your reactions to the pain. For example: "On Monday night, sharp pains in my knees produced by housework interfered with my sleep; on Tuesday morning, because of the pain, I had a hard time getting out bed. However, I coped with the pain by taking my medication and applying ice to my knees." The diary will give the doctor some insight into your pain and may play a critical role in the management of your disease.

What Happens When You First Visit a Doctor for Your Arthritis Pain?

The doctor will usually do the following:

  • Take your medical history and ask questions such as; How long have you been experiencing pain? How intense is the pain? How often does it occur? What causes it to get worse? What causes it to get better?
  • Review the medications you are using
  • Do an examination to determine likely causes of your pain and how your arthritis-pain is affecting you
  • Take blood and/or urine samples and seek blood work ups at the Lab
  • Ask you to get X-rays taken, or other imaging procedures such as a CAT scan (computerized axial tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to see how much joint damage has been done.

Once the doctor has done these things and reviewed the results of any tests or procedures, the doctor will discuss the findings with you and design a comprehensive management approach for the pain caused by your osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthritis Pain relief center

Which Professionals Can Treat Arthritis Pain?

A number of different specialists are caring for patients with arthritis pain. A so called pain team can include doctors who specialize in arthritis treatment, surgeons and physical/occupational therapists. Their goal is to treat various aspects of arthritis pain and help you learn to manage pain. The physician, other health care professionals, and you, the patient, all play an active role in the control of arthritis pain.

Exactly How Is Arthritis Pain Treated?

There is no single treatment applicable to everyone suffering from arthritis-pain. Your doctor will develop a management plan targeted for you and designed to minimize your specific pain and improve the function of your joints. There are several arthritic treatments which may offer short-term pain relief.

Short-Term Relief

Non-Prescription Meds for Arthritis Pain Treatment --- Because people with osteoarthritis have little inflammation, pain relievers like the benefits from an ibuprofen regimen, can be effective in relieving arthritis-pain. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis generally have pain caused by inflammation and often may get pain relief benefits from starting an aspirin regimen, or other non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Advil, for example.

Heat and Cold Pain Treatment Methods --- The decision to use either heat or cold for arthritis pain depends on the type of arthritis and should be discussed with your doctor or physical therapist. Moist heat, such as a warm bath or shower, or dry heat, such as a heating pad, placed on the painful area of the joint for about 15 minutes which may offer a small degree of pain relief.

An ice pack wrapped in a towel and placed on the painful area for about 20-minutes or so may help to reduce swelling and help the pain. However, if you have blood circulation issues, cold-packs are not recommended.

Joint Pain Protection; A splint or a brace used to allow joints to rest and protect them from injury can be helpful. Your physician or physical therapist can make recommendations.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is a small medical device sending mild electric pulses to nerve endings lie beneath the skin in the painful area may relieve some arthritis pain. This works by blocking pain messages sent to the brain and by modifying pain perception.

Massage -- In this pain-relief approach, a massage therapist will lightly stroke or massage painful muscles. This may increase blood flow and bring warmth to a stressed area. However, arthritis-stressed joints are very sensitive, so the therapist must be familiar with the problems of the disease.

Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are chronic diseases may last a lifetime. Learning how to manage your pain over the long term is an important factor in controlling the disease and maintaining a good quality of life. Following are some sources of long-term pain relief.

Brand names included are provided as examples only and their inclusion does not mean these products are endorsed by the National Institutes of Health or any other Government agency. Also, if a particular brand name is not mentioned it does not necessarily mean or imply the product is non-satisfactory.

Long-Term Arthritis Pain Relief

Arthritis Pain Meds & Drugs

Biological response modifiers -- These new drugs used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis reduce inflammation in the joints by blocking the reaction of a substance called tumor necrosis factor, an immune system protein involved in immune system response. These drugs include Enbrel and Remicade.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs -- These are a class of drugs including aspirin and ibuprofen are used to reduce arthritis pain and inflammation and may be used for both short-term and long-term relief in people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. NSAIDs also include Celebrex, one of the so-called COX-2 inhibitors block an enzyme known to cause an inflammatory response.

Disease-modifying anti rheumatic drugs -- These are drugs used to treat people with rheumatoid arthritis who have not responded to NSAIDs. Some of these include the new drug Arava and methotrexate, hydroxy chloroquine, penicillamine, and gold injections. These drugs are thought to influence and correct abnormalities of the immune system responsible for a disease like rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment with these medications requires careful monitoring by the physician to avoid side effects.

Corticosteroids -- These are hormones are very effective in treating arthritis but cause many side effects. Corticosteroids can be taken by mouth or given by injection. Prednisone is the corticosteroid most often given by mouth to reduce the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis. In both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, the doctor also may inject a corticosteroid into the affected joint to stop pain. Because frequent injections may cause damage to the cartilage, they should be done only once or twice a year.

Other products -- Hyaluronic acid products like Hyalgan and Synvisc act like natural body substances and lubricates the knee joint and permits flexible joint movement without pain. A blood-filtering device called the Prosorba Column is used in some health care facilities for filtering out harmful antibodies in people with severe rheumatoid arthritis pain, joint pain and suffering.

Weight Loss -- Extra pounds put extra stress on weight-bearing joints such as the knees or hips. Studies have shown overweight women who lost an average of 11 pounds substantially reduced the development of osteoarthritis in their knees. In addition, if osteoarthritis has already affected one knee, weight reduction will reduce the chance of it occurring in the other knee.

Exercise -- Swimming, walking, low-impact aerobic exercise, and range-of-motion exercises may reduce joint pain and stiffness. In addition, stretching exercises are helpful. A physical therapist can help plan an exercise program too give you the most benefits.

Surgery -- In select patients with arthritis, surgery may be necessary. The surgeon may perform an operation to remove the synovium (synovectomy), realign the joint (osteotomy), or in advanced cases replace the damaged joint with an artificial one (arthroplasty). Total joint replacement has provided not only dramatic relief from pain but also improvement in motion for many people with arthritis.

What Alternative Therapies May Relieve Arthritis Pain?

Many people seek other ways of treating their disease, such as special diets or supplements. Although these methods may not be harmful in and of themselves, no research to date shows they help. Some people have tried acupuncture, in which thin needles are inserted at specific points in the body. Others have tried glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, two natural substances found in and around cartilage cells, for osteoarthritis of the knee. Click for Health Tip of the Day.

Some alternative or complementary approaches may help you to cope with or reduce some of the stress of living with a chronic illness. It is important to inform your doctor if you are using alternative therapies. If the doctor feels the approach has value and will not harm you, it can be incorporated into your treatment plan. However, it is important not to neglect your regular health care or treatment of serious symptoms.

How Can You Deal With Arthritis Pain?

The long-term goal of pain management is to help you cope with a chronic, often disabling disease. You may be caught in a cycle of pain, depression, and stress. To break out of this cycle, you need to be an active participant with the doctor and other health care professionals in managing your pain. This may include physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, occupational therapy, biofeedback, relaxation techniques: i.e. deep breathing exercise, and relaxation methods.

The Multipurpose Arthritis Musculoskeletal Diseases Center at Stanford University, supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, has developed an Arthritis Self-Help Pain Course teaching people with arthritis pain how to take an active role in their arthritis pain treatment. The Arthritis Self-Help Course is taught by the Arthritis Foundation and consists of a dozen or more hour long program including lectures on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, exercise, pain management, nutrition, medication, doctor-patient relationships, and alternative medicine pain treatment methods.

Things You Can Do To Manage Arthritis Pain

  • Eat a healthy diet.
  • Get 7 or 8 hours of sleep at night.
  • Keep a daily diary of pain and mood changes to share with your physician.
  • Choose a caring physician.
  • Join a pain support group.
  • Stay up-to-date on late-breaking news about managing arthritis pain.

You may want to contact some of the organizations listed on this website for additional information on the Arthritis Self-Help Course and on coping with pain, as well as for information on support groups in your area.

What Research Is Being Conducted on Arthritis Pain

The NIAMS, part of the National Institutes of Health, is sponsoring research will increase understanding of the specific ways to diagnose, treat, and possibly prevent arthritis pain. As part of its commitment to pain research, the Institute joined with many other NIH institutes and offices in 1998 in a special announcement to encourage more pain studies.

At the Specialized Center of Research in Osteoarthritis at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, pain researchers are studying the human knee and analyzing how injury in one joint may affect other joints. In addition, they are analyzing the effect of pain and analgesics on gait (walking) and comparing pain and gait before and after surgical treatment for knee osteoarthritis.

At the University of Maryland Pain Center in Baltimore, NIAMS researchers are evaluating the use of acupuncture on patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Preliminary findings suggest traditional Chinese acupuncture is both safe and effective as an additional therapy for osteoarthritis, and it significantly reduces pain and improves physical function.

At Duke University in Durham, NIAMS medical researchers have developed cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) involving both patients and their spouses. The goal of CBT for arthritis pain is to help patients cope better with the long-term demands of a chronic and potentially disabling disease. Researchers are studying whether aerobic fitness, coping abilities, and spousal responses to pain behaviors diminish the patient's pain and disability.

Medical research involving arthritis pain also include projects in the Institute's Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases. At University of California, stress factors, including pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis are being researched. Findings from this study will be used to develop patient education programs will improve a person's ability to deal with rheumatoid arthritis and enhance quality of life. At the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, health care professionals are looking at the causes of pain and joint disability in patients with osteoarthritis. The goal of the project is to improve doctor-patient communication about pain management and increase arthritic patient satisfaction.

The list of arthritis pain studies continues. A project at Stanford University is evaluating the effects of a patient education program uses a book and videotape to control chronic arthritis pain. At Indiana University Institute-supported scientists are determining if strength training can reduce the risk of severe pain from knee osteo-arthritis. And a multi center study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and NIAMS, and coordinated by the University of Utah School of Medicine, which has investigated the effects of the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate for knee pain and osteoarthritis treatment.



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