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Arthritis
See Also:
Arthritis:
Introduction & Overview
Arthritis: Types
Arthritis:
Causes & Risk Factors
Arthritis: Signs &
Symptoms
Arthritis:
Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Arthritis:
Treatment & Prevention Options
Treatment Options
Treatment options for arthritis include:
I. Physical Exercises:
Exercise is essential to keep the joints healthy and
fully mobile. Exercise to joints strengthens the
surrounding muscles and helps in supporting the joints.
Joint movement also helps in transporting nutrients and
waste products to and from the cartilage.
Range of motion
exercises: These are gentle stretching
exercises required to be done daily to help keep
the joints fully mobile and prevent stiffness and
deformities. Intense or chronic pain can subside
by carrying out these exercises by patients
suffering from arthritis.
Strengthening Exercises:
These help increase the muscle strength and
provide support to the joints, making them more
stable and lessening the pain. Strengthening
exercises include:
- Isomeric Exercises: These
exercises help in tightening muscles without
the joint movement. These exercises are
useful when the joint motion is impaired.
- Isotonic Exercises: These
exercises strengthen the muscles by movement
of joints.
- Endurance Exercises: Endurance
exercises optimize the heart rate to target
level, which is computed based on age and
physical condition. Endurance exercises in
arthritis patients benefits them by increasing
their physical strength and improving their
symptoms (34).
II. Medications:
Analgesics:
Analgesics such as paracetamol and tylenol help
relieve pain.
Non-Steroidal
Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): NSAIDs
such as Ibuprofen, Aspirin and Naproxen are
effective in relieving pain, but patients with a
history of kidney or liver disease or
gastrointestinal bleeding must avoid NSAIDs
unless recommended by their doctor.
Corticosteroids or
Steroids: These medications suppress the
immune system and symptoms of inflammation.
Steroids may be given orally or injected directly
into the affected joint. Side effects of using
steroids include upset stomach, gastrointestinal
bleeding, hypertension, thinning of the bones and
cataracts.
Disease Modifying
Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs): DMARDs
are highly effective and used to treat rheumatoid
arthritis and autoimmune causes of arthritis.
These include gold salts, D-penicillamine,
sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine, leflunomide
and methotrexate.
Biological Response
Modifiers (BRMs) or Biologicals: These
drugs are highly effective in treating serious,
systemic life threatening forms of arthritis
(Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis and
Systemic Vasculitides). These drugs include
Infliximab, Etanercept, Rituximab, Adalimumab and
Abatacept.
III. Surgery:
Surgeries such as total knee joint replacement and
joint replacement are considered only when alternatives
such as lifestyle changes and medications are no longer
effective (35), (36) & (37).
Prevention Methods
Only some kinds of arthritis are preventable but most
are not. Some of the measures to prevent arthritis
include:
1. Maintaining ideal body weight.
2. Prevention from major accidents
3. Appropriate physical exercise
4. Avoiding unprotected sex (to prevent gonorrhea
related arthritis and reactive arthritis) (35) &
(38).
See Also:
Arthritis:
Introduction & Overview
Arthritis: Types
Arthritis:
Causes & Risk Factors
Arthritis: Signs &
Symptoms
Arthritis:
Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Arthritis:
Treatment & Prevention Options
Arthritis is sometimes misspelled as:
arthritus, arthrits, artheritis, and arthitis.

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com
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