Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

Rheumatoid arthritis treatment has come a long way in the past few years and this often chronic disease no longer sees the majority of sufferers bedridden or confined to a wheelchair, as used to be the case. While about ten percent of those afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis will progress to the point of disability a similar number of sufferers will recover completely within months of their initial diagnosis, never to be bothered by the condition again. For the vast majority of sufferers who fall between these two categories treatment will allow them to lead relatively normal lives for extended periods of time with only occasional flare-ups of their condition.

No two people are affected in quite the same way by rheumatoid arthritis and so you will need to sit down with your doctor and draw up a rheumatoid arthritis treatment plan which addresses your particular problems and suits your own lifestyle.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Plans

There are several elements which should form the basis of any treatment plan.

• Rest. Rest is essential for joints during any flare-up as trying to use a joint under these circumstances will almost certainly make matters worst, rather than better. Rest periods can be build into your daily routine to accommodate flare-ups and, if necessary, complete bed rest during such episodes may also be in order. One plan which many people find effective is to temporarily immobilize an effected joint with a splint during flare-ups. One important point to note however is that joints should be moved very gently from time to time during flare-ups and not held rigid for extended periods of time. If this is not done the joint could lock up completely.
• Diet.We are what we eat and diet forms an important part of any rheumatoid arthritis treatment plan. As with health in general you need a good balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and a minimum of processed foods. To counter inflammation you should also ensure that your diet contains plenty of fish, fish oils, flaxseed oil, black walnuts, green soya beans and other similar foods. You should also stay away from things like sunflower, safflower and corn oils.

  Many people also find that vitamins and supplements help and you might consider taking antioxidents such as vitamin C and vitamin E, as well as selenium. Other useful supplements include chondroitin sulphate and glucosamine sulphate.

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  Rheumatoid Arthritis Exercises

  Exercise.Exercise is a particularly important element of any treatment plan as, despite the fact that it may seem odd to talk about resting and exercising joints as part of the same plan, exercise is vital to preserve the maximum movement in effected joints. Exercise helps to strengthening the supporting structures within your joints and to improve flexibility. Carefully exercising inflammed joints is also important to stop them from locking up.

  Exercise needs to be carefully planned out and done with care as exercising incorrectly or overdoing things could easily have the opposite effect to that intended. For this reason you should discuss exercise with your doctor and may find it beneficial to work with a physiotherapist.

• Joint Protection. Posture is important in general but is especially important when arthritis strikes as poor posture can put added stress onto your joints and do further damage. It is important therefore to maintain good posture when sitting, standing, walking, lifting and indeed making any sort of movement.
• Hot and Cold Compresses. Both heat and cold can help to ease inflamed and painful joints. In general most people find that applying a hot compress can help to ease sore muscles and increase circulation within the joint, while a cold compress will help to reduce pain and lower inflammation.
• Medication.There are a wide range of different medications which can be purchased over the counter or prescribed by your doctor to help with the management of rheumatoid arthritis.

  For mild cases simple analgesics, such as paracetamol, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen, may be sufficient. There is a wide range of both analgesics and NSAIDs available, many available only on prescription, and these alone can cope with quite severe pain when used in the right combination. The problem is that each of us reacts differently to specific drug combinations and what will work well for one person may not work at all for another. Here therefore it is a case of working with your doctor and experimenting to find a solution which is effective for you.

  If analgesics and NSAIDs do not do the trick then your doctor may suggest trying disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or corticosteroids, which are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs. If these too fail to meet your needs then your doctor may move on to use the latest weapon in the armoury against rheumatoid arthritis which are known as biologic response modifiers (BRMs). These drugs, which are also known as cytokine inhibitors, are designed to alter the course of rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting certain actions within the body’s immune system.

• Surgery. If all else fails then your doctor may suggest that you consider surgery. There are various different approaches to surgery include such things as removing the lining from diseased joints, replacing a joint to both ease pain and correct deformity, fusing vertebrae in the neck to prevent spinal cord compression, removing or fusing joints in the foot to both relieve pain and aid walking and the fusing of a thumb joint so that the thumb can be used to grasp objects.

Before leaving the subject of rheumatoid arthritis treatment plans we should make mention of the risk posed by coronary heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is the number one cause of death among people with rheumatic arthritis and this is almost certainly the result of chronic inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis which accelerates the process of atherosclerosis (hardening and furring of the arteries) within the body. For this reason sufferers should place particular emphasis in any rheumatoid arthritis treatment plan on such things as exercise (particularly cardiovascular exercise) and diet. It is also important for sufferers to watch their weight, keep their cholesterol levels in check, stop smoking and control their blood pressure.