No known cure currently exists for the life changing disease, arthritis. It affects almost 40 million citizens in the United States alone. Some types of arthritis can be difficult to diagnose as the latter stages often go unnoticed by professionals, making it a struggle to help prevent the disease before it reaches the much more severe later stages. Methods do exist to aid preventing the posterior stages and to treat the symptoms. Many different treatments can be used depending on the type and severity of each form of arthritis such as surgeries, medication, exercise routines, and other physical therapies.
Medication
The most common form of treatment for arthritis is medication. Many of them can be purchased at a supermarket or pharmacy without a prescription and they help a great deal in easing the joint pains. These medications include aspirin, naproxen, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and mefenamic acid. Other non-oral medications exist that can be applied to the joint area like gels, topical creams, and mentholated ointments; these can also be purchased without a prescription.
Stronger medicines also exist but require a prescription from a doctor. The chemicals in these medications help to repair the damage caused by arthritis reducing the pain. Doctors will often prescribe either of these high dosage medications to patients suffering from later stages of arthritis, these include cox-2 inhibitors, steroids, injectable cortisones, third generation pain killers, and naproxen.
Rehabilitation and physical therapies
Instant relief medications can be helpful for a quick fix to ease the pain but they have been proven to be poor and unreliable in the long term.
Physical therapies have no visible effects in the early stages of treatment but the improvements will be noticed after weeks and, sometimes, after months of therapy depending on the severity of arthritis. This treatment aids the motion of joints and strengthens the muscle groups that have been affected by the arthritis. Depending on the condition different methods will be used such as ultra violet beta rays, infrared, electrical stimulation, steaming, stimulating massages, and applying hot or cold compresses to the area to increase blood flow through the joint.
Healthy Life Style
Living a healthy life style is the most successful way to deal with arthritis. Medical professionals all agree that a steady quantity of the right nutrients will help to prevent arthritis and later symptoms all together.
A correct nutrition keeps the body healthy and nourished while exercising daily and maintaining a healthy diet keeps the body in shape. Arthritis is often caused from pressure on the joints and excess weight adds this pressure, damaging the joints and causing early symptoms of arthritis.
Surgery
Surgery is a final resort if all else has failed and the arthritis has reached a stage where the joints are no longer repairable through other means.
If the joint has not completely deteriorated, parts can be replaced but if the damage is too much, the joint will be removed completely to prevent any further damage to the surrounding area.
Doctors will always seek other methods of treatment before they resort to surgery and will avoid these procedures whenever possible.
There may be no cure for arthritis but it can be prevented by following a healthy life style and checking in with your doctor at the first signs of joint pain. Look through the symptoms and consult a professional to conduct a proper diagnosis. Knowing the correct forms of treatment and how they work greatly helps ease the pain that arthritis can cause. A medical professional can determine the exact type of arthritis you have and prescribe you the correct medicine or best possible treatment to prevent later symptoms from appearing.
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