The osteoarthritis treatment focuses on pain relief and management of symptoms. There are various options available such as medications, different therapies, natural remedies, self-care measures and surgical options. Before starting treatment, it is important to understand the causes and symptoms of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disorder of joints that results from the breakdown of protein substance of joints known as cartilage. This disease affects different organs such as fingers, hands, knees, feet, spine and hips and causes pain, stiffness, swelling and tenderness of the joints. If left untreated, this disease can cause deformity and disability of joints and may worsen ones daily functioning.
Although this disease is irreversible, osteoarthritis treatment can help to improve the flexibility and maintain the joint function. The treatment depends on the organ affected, medical history of the patient and severity of symptoms. The symptoms of osteoarthritis may range from mild to severe. If the symptoms are mild, they can be treated by some self-care measures such as rest, exercise, losing body weight, application of heat or cold and by physiotherapy. Exercise is beneficial to improve joint strength and to maintain the mobility of joints as well as to control excessive body weight which may be one of the risk factors for osteoarthritis.
Besides this, you can manage the osteoarthritis pain by adopting few changes in lifestyle such as avoiding the activities that can put stress on the joints of hips, knees, fingers and back. In addition to that, alternating ice packs and heating pads can offer significant pain relief for osteoarthritis and can also help to soothe pain and stiffness of joints.
For the patient with moderate osteoarthritis pain, the treatment options are medications and natural remedies. The medications for osteoarthritis include pain relievers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and COX-2 inhibitors. Some of the effective pain killers are Tylenol, Panadal, Anacin-3 and Valadol. NSAIDs including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB), aspirin, ketoprofen (Orudis KT, Actron), diclofenac (Voltaren) and naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn) are useful to relieve pain as well as reduce inflammation. These drugs act by preventing the formation of prostaglandins which is responsible for pain and inflammation.
In case of severe osteoarthritis, the doctor prescribes some stronger painkillers such as propoxyphene (Darvon) and codeine, injections of corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid derivatives such as Synvisc and Hyalgan. In case of excessive joint damage, some surgical options such as fusing bones, osteotomy and joint replacement are suggested.
In addition to these surgical and non-surgical options, some natural remedies such as chondroitin, glucosamine and MSM are found to be beneficial for osteoarthritis treatment. Besides this, some complementary and alternative options are also available which include acupuncture, homeopathy, magnetic therapy, massage therapy, homeopathy, tai chi and yoga. These therapies can effectively relieve pain and decrease the symptoms without imparting any side-effects.
