Joint pain: recommended treatments for their relief
Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States and is a growing public health problem. Some treatments such as regenerative medicine are a great option for patients.
Image of joint pain in different places. Photo: ShutterStock.
Joint pain is usually a consequence of a chronic degenerative disease of the bones and joints called arthritis.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
The arthritis It is the result of inflammation of the joints and causes a lot of pain to the people who suffer from it. In case of arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cartilage destruction occurs, bones and connective tissue become inflamed, irritated and worn away, and this is due to the body’s immune cells reacting to the cartilage and destroying it.
There are several types of arthritis which may have a rapid onset of symptoms or may be gradually degenerative. Many of these conditions are age-related, but there are other types of situations that can make a patient suffer arthritis.
Osteoarthritis (OA)
Osteoarthritis (OA), its appearance is related to age and excessive load on the joints. It can also affect people who have had joint injuries or surgeries.
There are other arthritic diseases associated with autoimmune conditions, and this is the case with arthritis rheumatoid (RA). This is the most serious and its symptoms include loss of appetite, anemia, inflammation of the immune system and/or deformity if left untreated.
Well arthritis It tends to affect women more than men and is also due to hereditary factors. OA is sometimes accelerated in younger people who have had a previous joint space injury, such as a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).
Arthritis joint wear and tear
All joints contain a tissue called cartilage. Its main function is to act as a shock absorber and protect the joint. Over time, this tissue wears down and decreases in size, increasing joint friction and causing pain.
The arthritis due to wear and tear is OA, while RA is an autoimmune disease. People with RA have their own immune system that attacks their tissues for reasons that are not fully understood. This in turn affects the synovium and synovial fluid (lubricating fluid for the joints) and significantly damages the joints.
Types of arthritis treatment
The treatment of arthritis It consists of taking analgesics (sedatives), immunosuppressants (reduce inflammation) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that control pain and inflammation.
replacement surgery
The other is joint replacement surgery with artificial joints and physical therapy treatments available. Your doctor will make an informed decision based on your blood test results and associated symptoms.
There may be specific severe cases where replacement surgery is required.
Cartilage does not regenerate and arthritis usually worsens
Cartilage, unlike skin, does not regenerate itself, which means that most arthritis Chronic will get progressively worse over time. Although the drugs commonly used to treat arthritis they can reduce inflammation in the joint, they do not actually slow the progression of the disease that leads to chronic joint pain, including knee pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, and leg pain.
As their condition progresses, patients experience increased pain and decreased range of motion, even despite medication and physical therapy.
regenerative medicine
A promising alternative treatment pathway to promote pain relief from arthritis chronic is regenerative medicine where existing healing mechanisms in the body are used to reduce the pain of arthritis without invasive surgical procedures.
biological therapy
These types of biologic therapies have been shown to be among the safest and most effective alternatives to knee replacement surgery for pain due to arthritisproviding long-term relief.
The treatments Biologics are a group of drugs that suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation in the joints. Although suppressing the immune system can make it somewhat harder to fight infections, it also helps stabilize an overactive immune system. By reducing inflammation, the goal is to help prevent joint damage.
The most used drugs in biologic therapy are Infliximab, Etanercept, dalimumab and Anakinra, some more successful than others based on the extent of the disease and its combination with other drugs such as methotrexant (MTX). The type of treatment chosen depends on some factors such as: the characteristics of the patient, the possibility of self-administration, periodic mobility to the hospital, the cost of the treatment, that is, whether the treatment options guarantee efficacy, safety and the same therapeutic goal.