Rheumatoid Arthritis Joint Pain vs Osteoarthritis Joint Pain
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The goal of treatment for both is to improve movement, reduce pain, and minimize joint damage, but the way to that is different for each disease, says Dr. Rackoff. Here’s what to expect:
RA The first line of defense is using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to reverse chronic inflammation. Anti-inflammatories, pain meds, and physical therapy are also used. It may take some time to determine which medication works optimally for your specific circumstances. A person may even need to try a few different types of medicine or a combination of medications. No two people, even with the same diagnoses, are alike in how they respond to various treatments. It’s a puzzle that has to be put together by you and your doctor, says Dr. Wilmarth. It’s very important to keep an open and honest dialogue with your doctor(s) and healthcare team in general and especially in order to ideally reach and maintain remission with RA.
The goal with RA and other autoimmune illnesses is to treat to target (T2T). This sets remission or low disease activity as a goal. Patients are monitored frequently with their rheumatologist and adjustments to their treatment protocol are made as necessary.
Treating RA early is important in improving outcomes. Guidelines from the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommend patients see a rheumatologist within 6 weeks after symptom onset.
RELATED: RA: Why Early Treatment Is So Important
OA Treatments include pain meds such as acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), and the antidepressant duloxetine (Cymbalta) is approved to treat chronic pain, including OA, notes Mayo Clinic. Strength training, physical therapy and weight loss (if you’re overweight) can also help. Local steroid injections and injections of hyaluronic acid can relieve pain. In the worst cases, joint replacement surgery may be necessary. Research on using collagen injections to rebuild cartilage, especially in the knees, is currently ongoing.
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