Pain Relief Medication for Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are not the same disease but when it comes to handling the joint pain caused they usually require the same types of pain relief medication. Although there are a lot of similarities in treatment, it is very important that you understand that different cases might require a different approach to the medication used.
In both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis we are usually hit with a need to use two types of medication: a quick fast line of drugs aimed at reducing joint pain and inflammation and one second line of drugs that are utilized to rebuild the damaged cartilage or joint itself. The fast line of pain relief medication usually stands in NSAIDs. They quickly act in reducing pain, swelling and decreasing stiffness felt in joints. Lower doses will control pain but higher dosage is required in order to reduce possible inflammation. With both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, there is a need to understand that NSAIDs do have important side effects to look out for. In most cases higher than required dose can lead to heart burns or even internal bleeding and ulcers. Another thing to be careful about is that, although reducing joint pain and inflammation, it also inhibits the blood’s ability to clot as it should. It can thus interact with blood thinning medication like coumadin and the situation is even worse. As you can notice, there is an immediate need to understand such possible side effects and respect the doctor’s indication to the letter. As an alternative to NSAIDs in reducing joint pain, you could also utilize COX-2 inhibitors, although they will only work in some cases and also come with the same negative side effects like NSAIDs.
The drug types mentioned above are the most common one utilized as pain relief medication in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis but others can also be added or included in the mix. For instance, mild to medium joint pain can be treated by utilizing a mix of glucosamine and chondroitin. On the other hand, we also have various natural treatment solutions that will avoid medication although the majority of cases will require at least one NSAID to be utilized in treatment. The trick is staying informed about possible medication solutions and consulting with your doctor on the topic at hand. You need to understand the side effects and even consider pain management as an option to learn in dealing with pain while not putting your body up for such risks as the ones mentioned above.
Technorati Tags: No Tags
Related Tags: No Tags
Possible Related Posts
Back Pain Treatment for Psoriatic Arthritis and OsteoarthritisPsoriatic Arthritis and Osteoarthritis – Causes and Hip AffectionArthritis Pain Relief through Acupuncture
