Joints of feet, spine, hands, wrists and weight-bearing joints like knees and hips are affected by the degenerative disorder of joints, osteoarthritis. A person with osteoarthritis may experience pain, swelling, tenderness and inflammation in these regions. As this disease can cause various deformities and disabilities of joints, it is very important to decide an appropriate treatment plan. Actually, there is no treatment to cure this disease. The treatment is aimed to relieve pain and manage all symptoms. Several options such as medications, exercise, self-care, various therapies such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, massage etc. and some surgical procedures are available for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Use of different osteoarthritis medications depends upon the severity of symptoms and medical history of the patient.
Mild osteoarthritis can be treated effectively by many ways such as rest, exercise, losing body weight, application of heat or cold and by physiotherapy. If the osteoarthritis symptoms are not reduced after this initial treatment, then osteoarthritis medications are used to manage the symptoms and decrease pain. Commonly used medications for treatment of mild osteoarthritis are acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and tramadol.
Acetaminophen like Tylenol, Panadal, Anacin-3 and Valadol is an effective painkiller and is the first choice for the treatment. It is useful for the people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis pain. As acetaminophen is not useful to reduce the inflammation, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are found to be effective to relieve pain as well as to reduce inflammation. Over-the-counter NSAIDs are ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB), aspirin, ketoprofen (Orudis KT, Actron) and naproxen sodium (Aleve). Prescription NSAIDs are diclofenac (Voltaren), naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn), tolmetin (Tolectin) and dexibuprofen (Seractil). These drugs act by preventing the formation of prostaglandins which is responsible for pain and inflammation.
In addition to these osteoarthritis medications, tramadol (Ultram), a centrally acting analgesic, can also be availed through prescription. Although it doesn’t impart anti-inflammatory effect, it can significantly lower pain. Use of tramadol in combination with acetaminophen is recommended for effective pain relief.
In case of severe osteoarthritis, the doctor prescribes some other medications such as stronger painkillers, cortisone shots and visco-supplementation. The stronger painkillers including propoxyphene (Darvon) and codeine can provide an effective relief from the severe osteoarthritis pain. Besides this, injections of corticosteroid medications are useful to reduce the joint pain. In addition to the cortisone shots, injections of hyaluronic acid derivatives such as Synvisc and Hyalgan offer a great pain relief by providing the cushioning in the knees. The effects of visco-supplementaion last for few months.
Though osteoarthritis medications have fewer side-effects, they can effectively relive the pain which is necessary to maintain normal joint function.
