Arthritis Overview

Arthritis is a condition that causes pain and discomfort in joints such as your knuckles, wrist, knees, or spinal column. There are many different types of arthritis that effect people differently. Arthritis can be a stand alone condition or can develop as a result of other diseases or conditions.

It’s reported that over forty million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with some form of arthritis or rheumatic condition making it the most common cause of disability in the United States. With treatment options and medication arthritis can be controlled to a point that in most cases will retain a decent quality of life.

Symptoms of Arthritis

Depending on the type of arthritis, age, and parts of the body most affected, arthritis symptoms can be mild to quite severe.

Some of the most common symptoms of arthritis include:

• Stiffness
• Redness
• Pain in any part of the body
• Aches in the joints
• Swelling
• Issues with range of motion

Some types of arthritis can be accompanied by other symptoms such as:

• A rash.
• Tiredness or fatigue.
• A fever.
• Loss of weight.
• Breathing issues.
• Dry eyes and mouth.

Your doctor will use the symptoms your experiencing to help diagnose the type of arthritis or rheumatoid condition you may have, and use this information to determine which treatment option is right for you.

Types of Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis – More than twice as common in women then men, RA causes inflammation of and around the joints often caused by built up proteins.

Osteoarthritis – A degenerative joint disease with no cure that gets worse over time caused by the grinding of cartilage.

What Causes Arthritis

Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring inflammation and can be caused by wear and tear issues or inflammation of joint tissue.

There are several factors that can contribute to the development of this very common condition. From heredity, personal environmental issues, and accidents, to being a secondary symptom of a variety of other diseases.

Causes of arthritis can be attributed to any of these risk factors:

• Heredity and Genetics are possible reasons for developing arthritic problems. Although little is known there have been strong connections found between them.
• Age is a common factor involved with arthritis. As people grow older their cartilage becomes more brittle and are more likely to develop arthritis.
• Weight can be a factor in developing joint pain and arthritis. When excessive weight is placed on joints it creates excess strain especially on the hips and knees.
• Injury can cause problems with joint movement possibly resulting in arthritis and other bone and joint conditions.
• Infection such as gout can cause inflammation of the joints resulting in arthritis.

Arthritis Tests and Diagnosis

In determining if you have arthritis your doctor will most likely ask multiple questions that will help diagnose if, and which type of arthritis you have. These questions will do with family history, pain, past injuries, medical history, and other symptoms you may be experiencing.

Physical tests are available that can assist in diagnosing arthritis, although might not be necessary including:

• Blood and urine tests to look for infections.
• X-rays to look for damaged or abnormal cartilige and bone.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look at tissues such as cartilage, tendons and ligaments.
• Arthroscopy which is when a small tube (an arthroscope) is inserted into the joint with a camera attached to visually see any bone, joint, or ligament damage.

Arthritis Treatments and Drugs

Treatment options depend on the type of arthritis you may have and deal with pain management, physical therapy, surgery, and treating of underlining issues such as infections.

Pain Management medications, creams, and drugs that can help alleviate joint pain and may include:

• Over the counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Acephen, Actamin, Feverall, Q-Pap, Tactinal, Tempra, Tylenol, Uniserts, and Vitapap) and Aspirin (Arthritis Pain, Aspergum, Aspir-Low, Aspirin Lite Coat, Bayer Aspirin, Bufferin, Easprin, Ecotrin, Empirin, Fasprin, Genacote, Halfprin, Norwich Aspirin, St. Joseph Aspirin, Stanback Analgesic, Tri-Buffered Aspirin, YSP Aspirin, Zorprin) can help with mild pain and may be used in combination with other medications.
• Narcotics such as oxycodone (Percocet) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) for mild to severe pain caused by arthritis but can be damaging in the long term and may be habit forming.
• Counter irritants are used for temporary pain relief and include topical treatments such as Arthricare, Icy Hot, Bengay, and Mineral Ice which provide warmth or cooling to soothe the area in pain.

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) help reduce pain and inflammation that may be causing pain and include:

• Over the counter oral NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin), naproxen sodium (Aleve), and ketoprofen (Orudis KT)
• Prescription NSAIDs are stronger versions and include: Diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), Fenoprofen (brand name: Nalfon), Flurbiprofen (Ansaid), Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), Indomethacin (Indocin), Ketoprofen (Orudis, Oruvail), Meclofenamate, Meloxicam (Mobic), Nabumetone (Relafen), Naproxen (Anaprox, Naprelan, Naprosyn), Oxaprozin (Daypro), Piroxicam (Feldene), Sulindac (Clinoril), and Tolmetin (Tolectin).

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are drugs that help stop your immune system from attacking your joints as is seen in rheumatoid arthritis.

Corticosteroids are steroids that help stop inflammation and suppress the immune system. They can be taken orally or injected directly into the joint. Some examples of Corticosteroids include: prednisone and cortisone.

Therapy including exercises and simple daily activities may be added to your treatment as a way to keep the joints and ligaments moving, increase range of motion, and as a prevention method to future degeneration.

Surgery may be an option if there is sufficaint damage to the joint, bone, or surrounding tissues. Some surgery options include.:

• Removal of the Synovium (synovectomy) may be needed when rheumatoid arthritis causes the synovium (the lining of your joint capsule) to swell. By removing it can help slow the deterioration of the joint.
• Joint Replacement may be necessary in worst case scenarios when the damage is so severe that a prosthetic one is needed. Common joints that need replacing are the hips and knees.
• Joint Fusion is a surgery where the two ends of the bones are removed and then attached together. Usually preformed on smaller joints such as fingers.

Your doctor will guide you through all the possible treatment options for arthritis and together you should be able to find the right ones to fit your specific needs.