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Arthritis traditional treatment
focuses only on relieving symptoms and improving joint function.
Medications
● Analgesics. They help reduce
pain, but have no effect on inflammation.
● Counterirritants. Varieties of
creams and ointments that interferes with the transmission of
pain signals from the joints.
● Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDs). Some may increase risk of heart attack or
stroke.
● Disease-modifying antirheumatic
drugs (DMARDs).
● Biologics. Used in conjunction
with DMARDs. These suppress the immune system.
● Corticosteroids. Reduces
inflammation and suppresses the immune system. Can cause
diabetes, kidney disease, osteoporosis and weight increase.
Therapy
Physical therapy, exercises,
splints or braces.
Surgery
● Synovium removal (synovectomy).
● Joint replacement. Joints most
commonly replaced are hips and knees.
● Joint fusion. For wrist, ankle
and fingers.
These surgical procedures are expensive and dangerous.
Available arthritis treatments can
be classified as medicine of the first and second degree among
the seven
levels of medicine, they are
expensive, not offering a cure and have harmful
side effects. |