Some types of arthritis hurt more than others

About Arthritis

Arthritis is not a single disease but more a group ofsimilar diseases, whose general characteristic is pain. Swelling of differentjoints in the body, such as joints in the hands or in the knees may be verypainful. Constant tiredness is also recognized as the source of pain for manyarthritis sufferers. Other types of this disease can cause inflammation of the membranesaround the joints and thus cause painful sensations in various parts of thebody. Inflammation is also known to affect tendon and ligaments in the body andcause more pain. The pain tends to be at its worst in patients suffering frommultiple forms of arthritis at once.

The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis andrheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is very common all over the globe. People sufferingfrom this medical condition find it very painful and difficult. In most cases,this is a debilitating disease, which seriously affects normal everydayfunctions. Rheumatoid arthritis is less common medical problem. However, it isblamed to cause even more pain and suffering than osteoarthritis. As we said,people experiencing few forms of arthritis are exposed to greater pain, sopeople suffering from both osteo and rheumatoid arthritis may be faced withconstant painful sensations. This type of pain is hard to manage and resolve.

Arthritis Management

The first step in managing arthritis is proper diagnosis. Oncedoctors establish from which arthritis the patients suffer, it is easier todetermine the treatment for the disease. Every type of arthritis requiresdifferent therapy. Treatment is focused on the parts of the body affected bythe disease and there are medications designed to perform that specific task.

Pain is usually treated with OTC (over the counter)painkillers, and Tylenol or Excedrin are frequent choices if there is nosignificant amount of pain involved. Sometimes, patients don’t have to take thedrug the whole time, just when the pain becomes too strong and they can’tendure it. More serious pains have to be treated in some other way, such assteroid (cortisone) injections in the joint affected by arthritis. Narcotic medicationsare additional options, for extremely intense pain caused by arthritis. What youshould know, arthritis pain can be managed but it can’t be completely cured.

Apart from treating the patient for the pain, the doctor needs toaddress other symptoms, such as fatigue or inflammation of the joints ortendons in the body.