Arthritis Pain Management, Relief And Treatment
Arthritis is one of the leading causes of disabilities around the world in the elderly. It affects all areas of the body where joints are present causing arthritis foot pain; arthritis hand pain and arthritis back pain. The pain is due to the inflammation of the joints caused by various reasons including hereditary diseases, viral and bacterial diseases and autoimmune diseases.
The general symptoms of arthritis include swelling, redness, heat and pain. Since arthritis causes such great pain and discomfort to the sufferers, various ways of arthritis pain management has been devised.
Evaluating The Pain
Since arthritis affects everyone differently, it is important to be able to describe and evaluate your own pain before setting out to look for methods of arthritis pain management. Some important things to note are the location of the pains (all of them) then be specific as to how to describe the pain such as throbbing, tingling, dull, tight, tender, pinching and stabbing as well as being able to describe the severity of the pain from a scale of 0 to 10.
Next thing to note is when the pain occurs or when it is better or worse. Examples include daytime and night time and the probability of being able to detect the oncoming of pain. Finally, you may note certain activities you have stopped doing or certain activities caused by the pain. These details will help the doctor’s understanding of your pain and hence give you a better arthritis pain management strategy.
In order to soothe the pain various medications may be prescribed and form part of the arthritis pain management plan. In general, these medications can be differentiated into 5 categories: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics for pain, corticosteroids, biological and non-biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Some popular arthritis medication include acetaminophen which can be taken with codeine, morphine sulfate, methotrexate and folic acid, oxycodone and pregabalin.
Exercise And Healthy Living
Apart from medication to assist in your Rheumatoid arthritis pain management plan, it is important to exercise the joints, eat a balanced diet and lead a balanced lifestyle. Popular exercised include swimming, yoga, Pilates and cycling. You may also employ methods of relaxation such as massages to ease the pain.
In terms of nutrition, one should try to maintain optimum body weight so many may go on diets. Psychology is also a major factor in arthritis patients’ lifestyles many people may get depressed and may concentrate too much on the pain. Instead, you should try join social clubs, do various meditation exercises to help relax and take your mind off the condition, after all there is no use in brooding over the pain.
No Comments