Known Ways to Achieve Arthritis Pain Relief

Pain is an intensely personal thing that nobody else can feel or share. Moreover, we all have different pain-thresholds too.

When pain has been with us for a long period, it becomes a generally debilitating factor, and literally feeds upon itself. We become moody and depressed. We are unable to sleep properly either. As a result, we go to bed expecting to have a painful night, and wake up in the morning expecting to have an agonizing day too. And so the cycle continues.

In a very real sense it is how we approach our pain, and the faith that we place in our medication, that has the final say in the effectiveness of any Arthritis pain relief program.

It will be a sad day for me if this advice turns out to be of little value, or does not make much sense to you right now as you are reading it. But, please think about what I have said. You must master your arthritic pain, not the other way around.

Analgesics

Analgesics, which include Paracetamol, Co-codamol, Tramadol and other similar pain killers, all mask pain by acting on the nervous system to prevent messages reaching the brain.

They come in different strengths and all work in slightly different ways. Moreover, some of us are more susceptible to some Analgesics than others. For this reason, it is important that patients know what they are entitled to expect in terms of benefits, and are encouraged to report on the improvements their Arthritis pain relief treatment brings to the discomfort they feel.

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID’S)

NSAID’s such as Ibuprofen and Naproxen work on the cause of the pain itself by inhibiting inflammation-causing chemicals. COX-2 is a recent enhancement that is less likely to cause gastrointestinal bleeding, but it has been found to be associated with cardiac and cerebrovascular incidents instead.

This is yet another reason to make full disclosure of your medical history, especially when working with unfamiliar doctors and nurses perhaps in hospital.

Cortico-Steroids

Steroids including Prednisolone and Depo-medrone also reduce inflammation, but these may be taken in either tablet form, intravenously or injected straight into a muscle for a topical analgesic solution.

It is unwise to take strong doses of these Arthritis pain relief drugs or any strength of them at all for more than three months in succession, without taking further medication to avoid possible damage to your bones.

Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARD’s)

These include Hydroxychloroquine, Methotrexate, Sulfasalazine, and Leflunomide among others. They need time to take effect and all work in slightly different ways to “damp down” the immune system for long term relief.

Following a cautious roll-out being fearful of side-effects, doctors have found that DMARD’s have a toxicity profile no worse than Cortico-steroids.

Biologics

Biologics are protein-based DMARD’s and include Etanercept, Adalimumab and Infliximab.

All these Arthritis pain relief solutions work by targeting specific biochemical messengers that send instructions to activate inflammation in the body. Some of them are administered by drip in hospital, while others may be injected under the skin in a similar way to self-administering Insulin.

Solutions for You

The pain relief solutions as discussed fall into two broad camps. The simpler ones merely suppress pain, while the more advanced ones increasingly experiment with body chemistry to suppress its cause. However none offer more than hope of retarding the growth of arthritic inflammation, while controlling pain.

There are things that sufferers can do themselves though. These include avoiding activities that exacerbate their condition, and focusing on things that talk their futures up, not down.

Until such time as scientific medicine takes another great leap forward, the things that I spoke about here are unfortunately the sum of known Arthritis pain relief alternatives. To end on a more positive note, scientists will no doubt soon conjure up longer-lasting and more effective medication, as the world of science evolves.