Arthritis

Arthritis means painful joints and there are different varieties of arthritis: all of which are really painful. But out of all these varieties rheumatoid arthritis is worse in the morning with stiffness and pain in cold weather. There is no particular age for getting an arthritis attack; children as well as the aged patients can suffer from arthritis. The main symptom is pain and a reluctance to move the affected limb due to severe pain.

.Most doctors ask for a detailed medical history to find out what caused the condition. Common questions that doctors ask to confirm a history of arthritis are-
1. How many joints are getting suffering from pain and why?
2. The exact location of the pain
3. The duration of the pain
4. When did the pain first appear
5. The exact work you were doing when the pain first started
6. Working makes the pain worse or better
7. Did you have any type of injury after which the pain started? Did you take medication for the injury? Did the pain persist after the injury?
8. Do you or anyone in your family have a history of arthritis or rheumatic disease?
9. Are you on any medications for your joint pain?
If you feel that the pain is getting out of control make sure you have a pain diary in hand to record exactly the symptoms of when the pain started and how. Patients are requested to write down exactly where the pain starts, and when. They have to describe how the joint feels like and what they were doing when the pain in the joint started.

Doctors also suggest a thorough health check up. Inflamed joints are warmer and swollen so doctors feel for temperature, redness and swelling, pain, movement, and other conditions of the joint. All body systems are checked, as sometimes joint disorders are accompanied with connective tissue disorders which also affect internal organs. A few of the common chronic diseases like Lupus Erythematosus affects the joints with arthritis while still affecting all internal organs which have connective tissue in them.

Laboratory tests may be necessary to confirm any temporary diagnosis. Samples of blood, urine, connective tissue, synovial fluids and lots of other organs are taken to check for signs and symptoms of chronic diseases which mimic arthritis. Doctors can take X-rays, CT-scans, MRI’s and joint X-rays like arthrography to take a closer look at the affected joints.

Treatment is symptomatic. Medication is the traditional standby of arthritis treatment as the pain and swelling is only controlled through painkillers. Medications for controlling the pain include common varieties of drugs like, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, COX-2 inhibitors, Analgesics to control the pain, corticosteroids to decrease the inflammation and the pain, and DMARD’s

Joint injections are the last resort for patients to try to control the severe pain that the patients feel. Steroids are injected directly into the joint to suppress the inflammation and the pain. Only three injections are allowed every year as this also causes a significant amount of injury to the joint capsule. Viscosupplementation is the next best thing that doctors recommend with gel-like materials applied or injected into the joints to act as a cushion in the joints. Materials commonly used are Supartz, Euflexxa and Hyalgan