Arthritis refers to a group of conditions that affect the joints and their surrounding tissues. These conditions typically involve inflammation, swelling, and tenderness in one or more areas of your body. The most common types include osteoarthritis, which involves the wear and tear of cartilage, and rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune response. People living with these conditions often experience a reduced range of motion and daily discomfort. Here’s information about arthritis treatments for managing pain:
Medications and Creams
Pain management focuses on reducing discomfort and improving daily function, and for arthritis patients, this means addressing joint stiffness and specific areas of pain. Pain management strategies require careful customization, as arthritis affects each person differently. The primary goal is to help individuals maintain mobility and manage routine activities with less overall discomfort.
Conservative treatments are the standard starting point for addressing symptoms of arthritic conditions. These options include various over-the-counter or prescription products that target inflammation and physical pain. Topical creams and ointments are applied directly to the skin over the affected joint; they work by interrupting pain signals locally before they travel to the brain.
Topical ointments target specific areas to interrupt pain signals, and oral anti-inflammatories work throughout your body to reduce swelling. Oral pain-relieving medications affect pain perception, while anti-inflammatory medications target inflammation that causes joint pain. Relying on these conservative options helps people participate more easily in their daily routines.
Steroid and Hyaluronic Acid Injections
When conservative treatments do not provide sufficient relief, your medical provider might recommend interventional injections. Doctors administer these injections directly into a joint, a specific nerve root, or the spine to treat pain. They inject medications at the anatomical source that is causing pain for targeted relief. There are two common types of interventional injections for arthritis:
- Corticosteroid Injections: Corticosteroid injections deliver targeted medication directly to the inflamed area to reduce joint swelling quickly.
- Hyaluronic Acid Injections: Hyaluronic acid injections serve a distinctly different purpose. They act as a physical lubricant for the joints, closely mimicking the naturally occurring fluids found in healthy joint capsules.
These joint and spine injections often play a key role in advancing physical therapy and general mobility efforts. By temporarily reducing severe joint pain and inflammation, injections make it much easier for people to perform necessary therapeutic exercises. Improved comfort allows individuals to build muscle strength and increase their flexibility during physical therapy sessions more easily.
Radiofrequency Denervation
If you experience chronic joint or spine pain that doesn’t respond to standard injections, radiofrequency denervation is another available treatment. This medical procedure, also called radiofrequency ablation, uses radio waves to generate electrical currents that heat a small area of nerve tissue. Radiofrequency denervation uses heat to target specific nerves, and this temporarily stops them from sending pain signals to the brain. By carefully interrupting these nerve pathways, the procedure aims to relieve persistent joint pain. The effects of this treatment can last for several months, giving many a wider window to engage in physical therapy plans.
Visit an Arthritis Specialist
Because symptoms and disease progression vary widely among patients, managing joint pain requires a structured and comprehensive approach. An arthritis specialist can assess your condition, review your medical history, and determine an appropriate pain management technique for you. Contact an arthritis specialist today to schedule a consultation.