Subhead
Arthritis
Arthritis is fairly well known to many as joint pains and aches. These complaints are fairly common. These issues can occur when active or at rest, but there are subtle nuisances that help determine what type of arthritis it may be. We will try to give a very broad overview of the 2 most basic types of arthritis.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of joint pain. This is due to overuse, trauma, wearing down of the joints over time. Many if not all people will develop this with age in some sort of capacity, mild to moderate to severe. This can show up earlier in life depending on a person’s career choice as well as proneness to injury. Common areas of pain are hands and fingers if one uses a lot of fine motor skills in their career. Pain in knees and hip if one has a very manual labor intensive job such as carpentry or other careers involving getting on knees and getting up and down repetitively. It is typical that pain relief is best in the mornings and worsen throughout the day as the joints are being used. Treatment includes ice or warm compresses, rest, work modifications. First line medications are NSAIDs and Tylenol. NSAIDs can be over the counter or prescriptions including but not limited to Advil, Aleve, ibuprofen, naproxen, meloxicam, diclofenac, celebrex, etc. Tylenol’s generic name is acetaminophen. Both should be taken in limited amounts and can be taken together but make sure to take it with food as to not upset the stomach. If requiring use for more than 2 weeks in a row, one should contact their family physician to make sure the diagnosis is correct and if the dosing is adequate or safe.
Another type of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis. This can be genetically linked, but not always, and this in simple terms is your body fighting itself. Rheumatoid arthritis can present in the same areas as osteoarthritis, in the hands, feet, back, shoulders, etc. However, typically these pains are worse in the morning and improve with use. You can start with acetaminophen and NSAIDs as above, but if it starts to spread or become severely uncontrolled, then a referral to a specialist may be needed. A rheumatologist is a specialist that manages rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. If there are severe symptoms and systemic illness then a “biologic” medication may be needed to help calm down the body’s own immune system from attacking itself.
Again, these are very basic broad overviews and lots of symptoms can and do overlap as does treatment. If ever any confusion or concern, please go see your family doctor to help get your pain under control, help prevent worsening of symptoms, and finally if needed, to get you the proper treatment if that means getting a referral to the specialist. For all arthritic ailments, weight loss, exercise, and activity will help improve the symptoms as well as good lifestyle, good food choices, cutting down on processed foods.
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