Your Treatment Options For Arthritis Knee Pain

Do you have arthritis knee pain? Many people suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis are dealing with the pain, deformity and loss of motion that arthritis can cause in the knees. Although many people end up requiring knee replacement surgery as a way of healing the damage, this can be a massive procedure that can take a long time to recover from.

The knee joint has three bones involved in its structure. They are the thigh bone (femur), the shin bone (tibia) and kneecap (patella). There is cartilage which shields the ends of the bone and a meniscus, which is a pad of cushioning tissue in the middle. Muscles and tendons keep everything in the proper alignment.

There are other ways to treat knee pain but it is important to know what kind of arthritis you have since the way they affect the joints is very different. Osteoarthritis affects the bones and cartilage because of overuse or injury. Rheumatoid arthritis is a result of the body’s immune system attacking the joints. It damages and inflames the meniscus. Osteoarthritis tends to be an ongoing process whereas rheumatoid arthritis can have periods where the disease flares up and gets worse, and other periods where it is in remission and symptoms improve.

Medication can be your first line of attack but these are different depending on your disease. All types of arthritis rely on anti-inflammatory medications and pain relievers to treat discomfort. With rheumatoid arthritis, you may also have DMARDs, which are disease modifying antirheumatic drugs. Two DMARDs include methotrexate and azathioprine, although there are a number of other effective DMARDs currently available. Osteoarthritis may use glucosamine and chondroitin supplementation in order to help improve the condition of cartilage in the knee joint.

There are several surgical options to treat knee pain. They include scoping the knee to repair or remove damaged cartilage, repairing a torn meniscus, or a total knee replacement. Total knee replacements may take quite some time to recover from but artificial knee joints can help you return to a high quality of life.

Other non medical means of treatment can include heat wraps and arthritis creams. These can soothe sore j
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oints and provide some relief. Remember that you should never heat a joint that has been affected by rheumatoid arthritis. You want to calm the heat that is in the joint, not add to it. You also want to make sure you are continuing to use the joint since letting it become immobile will not help and you will end up with more severe problems down the road. Arthritis websites or a rheumatologist can help you establish a safe and effective exercise routine.

Treating arthritic knee pain does not have to be difficult but it may take trying several products before you find the ones which work best for you. Talking to a doctor or pharmacist can be a great first step to getting you on the road to recovery.

By: Hea Clay

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