Arthritis

Three Common Types of Arthritis and How to Treat Them

Arthritis may be used to describe body pain, but the different types of arthritis can vary significantly based on the way they affect the human body. Some forms of arthritis affect strictly your bones and joints; others, may start to attack your organs and affect your immune system. These are the three most common types of arthritis, how they are diagnosed and what treatment for them may look like.

Osteoarthritis

Also called “the wear and tear disease,” osteoarthritis (OA) presents as the human body ages. During this process, bones and their protective cartilage begin to break down. The deterioration of protective cartilage that serves as a cushion between the bones and joints may make movement painful and flexibility difficult.

While the effects of OA can’t be reversed, you can manage your symptoms and pain with lifestyle changes. Keeping up with your exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and diet and regular physical therapy can help keep your pain at bay. Should your symptoms worsen or you find you are no longer able to live with the pain, you should talk to your family medicine provider about necessary anti-inflammatory or pain medication or possible surgery.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is different from osteoarthritis because it is classified as an autoimmune disease. RA occurs when the immune system starts to attack your body and healthy tissue, causing pain and inflammation within your joints. Over a long period of time, the damage can become irreparable.

A series of tests and exams – to include complete blood count (CBC), radiographs of certain joints, and antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing – will help your family medicine provider determine if in fact your symptoms are those of RA.

Your family medicine provider will likely recommend you take over-the-counter medication before deciding whether you need to address the pain with steroids or more aggressive pain management medication. They will also likely prescribe disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, or DMARDs, to stop the progression of the disease in an attempt to halt further damage. Many family medicine providers are also turning to regenerative medicine, such as non-embryonic stem cell treatments and platelet rich plasma therapies, to treat RA.

Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis creates stiffness and pain in multiple joints, and symptoms can flare up, fade away, and even change location in your body. Family medicine providers will look for swelling close to the tips of the toes and fingers, leading to brittle or cracked nails; it can also find its way to the lower back, wrist, knees, ankles, and tendons.

Because symptoms often mimic other arthritic and inflammatory diseases, psoriatic arthritis can be hard to diagnose. Your family medicine provider will perform a series of blood tests and other diagnostics to rule our RA, gout or other conditions before determining you do in fact have psoriatic arthritis.

If so, your family medicine provider will likely prescribe anti-inflammatory medication or recommend NSAIDs for psoriatic arthritis, but also focus on taming your immune system. Should the damage to your joints become severe, your family medicine provider may also recommend joint replacement surgery.

While there are a number of clues that can help you determine which sort of arthritis you might have, the only way to know for sure is to get checked out by a medical professional.

The friendly staff at Advanced Medical is well versed in the diagnostics and treatment of arthritis and looks forward to serving you. If you have any questions about our primary care services, please call our office at (561) 434-1935. To schedule an appointment, you can call us or use our secure online appointment request form.

Dealing with Arthritis Pain at Home

There are many different types of arthritis, but osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form. Also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD), it is caused by “wear and tear” of the joints and can result in considerable chronic pain, which can then lead to disability. Some of the risk factors for developing OA include obesity, muscle weakness around the joint, repetitive activity, and previous joint injury. The pain associated with OA is caused by an erosion of cartilage, narrowing of the joint space, and deformity of the bone within the joint; and the most common sites of the body to develop OA include hands and fingers, the big toe, hips, knees and spine. If you experience pain in your joints, it is important to discuss this with your family medicine provider. Once diagnosed, the goal of treatment is to minimize pain and to help you maintain independence in performing your everyday activities. The following are some things that you can do at home to deal with arthritis pain, and to improve your quality of life.

Weight Control

Being overweight is a contributing factor to developing OA, and it will continue to worsen the condition over time. Any extra weight you might be carrying increases the load and stress on your joints, leading to further degeneration. Your overall good health is greatly affected by your intake of foods with high nutritional value. Your joints are no exception to this rule. Studies show that even a small amount of weight loss can improve your joint health, so increase the fruits and vegetables, whole wheat grains, and low-fat proteins in your diet, while decreasing the amount of simple sugars, starches and high fat foods; and watch your portion sizes. Remember that regardless of your food choices, if you take in more than you put out, you will gain weight. Ideally, you body mass index (BMI) should be between 18.5 and 24.9.

Exercise Balanced with Rest

Regular, gentle exercise is important to maintain joint function and will help with pain management. While physical therapy can be very beneficial, there are a lot of exercises that you can do at home. Water exercise is an exceptional way to increase joint movement, while minimizing stress on the joint. Bicycling is another excellent choice. Isometric exercises, which improve muscle strength and support joint function, involve contraction of muscles without joint movement. For instance, holding a plank position allows the contraction of multiple muscle groups, while avoiding undue stress on any one joint. Another important way to protect your joints is to strengthen the muscles around them by performing weight-bearing exercise. To start out, it is best that you perform exercises that use your own body weight, such as squats, calf raises, lunges or push-ups. It has been found that moderate to vigorous exercise, at least three times per week, can lead to marked improvement in joint pain. But remember, before starting any exercise program, you should discuss it with your family medicine provider.

As helpful as exercise is to joint health, it is important to not overdo it. Listen to your body. If something is painful, stop. Also, if you find your joint pain increases throughout the day as a result of normal activities, stop and take a break. Rest will often result in a decrease or resolution of pain. And, make sure you are getting adequate amounts of sleep at night.

Heat/Ice

The application of heat will often relieve the pain of arthritis. Try a hot shower or bath when your joints are aching. Gel pads that can be warmed in the microwave are available over the counter, but follow the directions carefully on the package and check the temperature with your wrist before applying it to your painful joints. However, electric heating pads should be avoided because of the risk of burns and fires. You might also try applying an over the counter liniment or preparation with camphor, eucalyptus, or capsaicin, which many people find does a good job in relieving arthritis pain.

Ice is another way to treat joint pain, although often not as effective as heat. In particular, if you are experiencing inflammation or swelling from overuse or injury, ice may be beneficial. When you use ice, make sure to not put the ice pack directly on your skin. Instead, place a small cloth or towel between the pack and your skin to protect your skin from injury. If you don’t have an ice pack, try a frozen bag of corn or peas.

Medication

The most important thing to remember is to discuss any medication you are taking with your family medicine provider. There are many products that you can obtain over the counter that may not be good to take over an extended period of time. For instance, NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or naproxen may be good for an acute injury, but taken on a regular basis, these drugs can cause kidney problems, heart problems, and stomach problems. They also increase your risk of bleeding. The number one drug of choice to control arthritis pain is acetaminophen. It is safe and effective for most people if taken as directed on the packaging. However, everyone is different so please discuss all over the counter medications with your family medicine provider before taking them.

To learn more about arthritis, its treatment, and what you can do to control pain and improve your joint function, call Advanced Medical PA at (561) 434-1935 to request an appointment, or request one online.

Why Are Women More Likely to Get Arthritis?

You might be sitting down and working in front of a computer at your 9 to 5 desk job, typing away for hours at a time; or maybe you stock shelves as a retail associate, moving heavy objects all day long; or perhaps you work in daycare, bending down to pick up toys, comforting homesick children, and cleaning up messes.

Repetitive daily activities and lifelong wear and tear on the joints slowly eats away at the soft cartilage between your bones, regardless of your career path. When there is no more cartilage between your bones, painful bone-on-bone friction occurs that can cause inflammation and swelling, gradually leading to immobility. This form of arthritis is called osteoarthritis, the most common form, which alone affects around 21 million Americans.

Another form of arthritis called rheumatoid arthritis occurs less frequently, but is up to three times more likely to occur in women than men, specifically those over the age of 30. It is an autoimmune disease that causes synovial fluid that lubricates the joints to become inflamed and painful. Symptoms include long lasting pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joint area – even during rest.

So why are women more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis?  According to recent studies, the answer may lie within our genes. Studies show that X-chromosome-specific genes account for 14 of the 46 specific genes linked to rheumatoid arthritis.

This is a significant finding, since women have two X chromosomes while men have only one X chromosome. While the presences of X-chromosome-specific genes increases one’s risk for rheumatoid arthritis, this may also be due to high levels of the hormone estrogen in women.

Estrogen helps to protect the bones. However, after menopause less estrogen is produced. This can cause changes in the joints, including weakened bones. Sustained lower estrogen levels can make women more susceptible to fractures and other conditions, including arthritis.

While there is currently no cure for arthritis, if action is taken early on, the severity of symptoms can be reduced. If you feel pain, stiffness, or swelling in the area of your joint for more than two weeks, schedule an appointment with Dr. Ishan Gunawardene to discuss the probability of arthritis.

The sooner you know the specific type of arthritis you may be suffering from, the sooner Dr. Gunawardene can prescribe an effective treatment. Over-the-counter or prescription medications often relieve pain and swelling, but cortisone injections can be given if something stronger is needed. Additionally, acupuncture, physical therapy, and regular engagement in a low impact exercise regime have proven effective in treating and managing symptoms.

If you are suffering from joint pain or need help managing your arthritic symptoms, call (561) 434-1935, or request an appointment online with Dr. Gunawardene today.