Rheumatism is pain and stiffness in the joints that can manifest in different ways. They usually appear in the morning when you wake up… This rheumatism affects the bones, tendons, and cartilage and can become very painful. In short, it’s not bad if you’re familiar with the best treatment for rheumatoid arthritis pain.
I – Is Prevention the Best Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain?
The articular cartilage that covers the bone surfaces is a living tissue a bit special: it does not contain blood vessels. Its nutrients are brought to it by the synovial fluid, a substance secreted by the synovial membrane lining the articular periphery. It is this membrane that becomes inflammatory in the case of arthritis. It is also responsible for pain because the cartilage does not contain nerves because it is composed of almost 75% water, so it does not hurt.
Also, among the preventive measures, we understand the importance:
– Excellent daily hydration is at least 1.5 liters per day of water weakly mineralized with a small portion of daily water rich in bicarbonates to fight against acidosis that can maintain inflammation.
– A fight against overweight and for the maintenance of a healthy weight.
– A diet rich in antioxidants to limit the effects of premature aging, that is to say, a diet rich in fruits, fresh and dried vegetables, fish, olive oil … Ask your pharmacist for advice dietetic.
– Moderation of protein intake and dairy products that can acidify the blood and increase joint pain.
– A daily and moderate physical activity that does not exert strong pressure on the joints and according to the pain of each: walking, cycling, swimming, running on flat ground.
– Do not smoke.
– To adopt a good posture and to put at rest his joints in a comfortable position, to use aids to get up without pain and to think to remobilize regularly a joint this would have remained a long motionless: seated position crossed leg for example.
– To adopt suitable clothing and in particular comfortable shoes that hold the foot without tightening with the minimum of heels and equipped if possible shock-absorbing soles (available in pharmacies).
– Consult your doctor at the slightest doubt or in case of sudden intense pain not ceasing at rest and/or in case of a hot, painful, disabling joint. In all cases, a diagnosis must be made by a doctor to quickly adapt the best treatment to relieve joint and rheumatic pains.
II – Rheumatism: What is the Best Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain?
*** The Background Treatment
This is a class of medications called slow-acting osteoarthritis drugs.
– Diacerhine:
The drugs that contain it are on medical prescription and act on localized inflammation in the cartilage by inhibiting a highly inflammatory molecule called IL-1. These drugs showed that even if the therapeutic response did not appear after 6 months, a positive effect on rheumatic pathology may appear after 2 to 3 years of treatment. It is therefore essential to take these drugs in the long term.
– Soy and Avocado Extracts (Piascledine®):
Free access to medicine stimulates the production of growth factors and therefore by this phenomenon, prevents the destruction of cartilage.
– Glucosamine:
Medicines open access. Glucosamine is a naturally occurring product extracted from the shell of crustaceans and is indicated for all mild or moderate pain, especially in the case of osteoarthritis at the knee. This medicine should not be used in case of allergy to crustaceans and with caution in combination with other treatment and especially in case of taking an anticoagulant.
– Chondroitin Sulfate:
Free access drug that acts on the inhibition of elastase that degrades cartilage. It stimulates the synthesis of cells allowing the renewal of cartilage.
*** Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain
– Oral Pain Medication:
The treatment of pain is to be determined with the attending physician to select the level of painkillers to use. The management of pain will initially rely on molecules such as paracetamol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. In the case of insufficient pain relief, Stage II antalgics with weak opioids or Level III which are strong opioids may be offered by the physician.
– Local Treatments:
This treatment can be proposed locally as a gel or anti-inflammatory patch (based on diclofenac, open access in pharmacy, asks your pharmacist for advice) to apply over a period of at least 8 hours and to renew all 12 hours). In addition, they are compatible with the wearing of a brace of relief. Indeed, orthotics can be proposed for the immobilization of painful joints to have an anti-pain action. Revulsive products: heating cream, the heating patch can be applied because these products in free access can relieve joint pain by the hot.
– Injectable Treatment:
There is also an injectable treatment based on hyaluronic acid that a rheumatologist must perform. This drug is a viscoelastic solution that includes molecules identical to the composition of cartilage and synovium and therefore provides a visco-substitution. In fact, the injected substance lubricates the cartilage, cushions the mechanical shocks, and promotes greater mobility, thus reducing pain.
– Technical Solutions:
Walking sticks, accessories to grab objects, to help turn a key in a lock, open corks or flasks, raised or rotating seats, and putting handrails in toilet and bathroom spaces. The help that can be offered in the management of rheumatic pain.
*** Food Supplements and Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain
These food supplements are recommended over long periods of time, between 3 to 6 months, in order to appreciate all the benefits; they can relieve pain related to osteoarthritis and help prevent joint damage.
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Food supplements may also include molecules used as background drugs:
– Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate
– Omegas 3, polyunsaturated fatty acids, can reduce inflammatory processes but medical advice will be necessary for patients on anti-coagulant. Hyaluronic acid can also be consumed orally, it is naturally present in the skin and it provides a great deal of hydration, elasticity, and tonicity of the joints.
– Collagen, for its part, guarantees the flexibility and the elasticity of the joints and the skin. It is naturally produced in the body but can also be consumed as a dietary supplement.
– Silica allows regeneration of cartilage and is naturally present in dietary supplements based on bamboo or nettle.
– Finally, vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, D, and E, magnesium, silicon, sulfur also limit the development of osteoarthritis and premature aging of the joints. Note that turmeric food supplement is a powerful anti-inflammatory and natural antioxidant, to control the inflammatory phenomenon and fight against aging joints.
*** Is Homeopathy the Best Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain?
For homeopathic treatments adapted to each one, it will be advisable to consult his homeopathic doctor in order to establish precisely the ground of each individual and to adapt the strains and homeopathic posologies then to use.
Generally, the homeopathic treatment of rheumatism consists of a background treatment based on RHUS TOX composed: 3 granules 5 to 6 times per day.
Depending on the symptoms of each, it is possible to take:
– Ruta graveolens in the case of pain that disappears in the day, which is aggravated by rest and improved by movement.
– Arnica montanadans for the case of the sensation of generalized pains and to have received a shock at the level of the articulations.
– Nux vomica in the case of pain with difficulties to turn around.
– Bryonia, in the case of total improvement at rest and during the application of cold. The pain is increased against movement and heat.
– Petroleum in the case of the sensation of crunches at the joints.
– Pulsatilladans for the case of swollen joint, pink, red, and with throbbing pains.
For the advice of strains adapted to each case, ask your pharmacist for advice. Indeed, the choice of treatment will also be based on the location of pain: cervical, knee, etc.
*** Are Herbs the Best Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain?
Long-term anti-inflammatory treatments are sometimes poorly tolerated. Herbal medicine and plants can then offer an interesting natural alternative for the management of rheumatic pain.
These plants usually have 3 ways of relief:
– Remineralizing action to restore osteoarthritic joints. Horsetail, Lithotame, bamboo are plants rich in silica and silicon but also calcium, magnesium, and iron for Lithotam. All these elements will help in the reconstruction and remineralization of the cartilage located at the level of the painful joints.
– Anti-inflammatory action to reduce pain, as well as inflammation that maintains the destruction of cartilage. Among the plants with anti-inflammatory action, the main one used is the Harpagophytum root, also known as the Devil’s Claw. It is rich in powerful anti-inflammatory compounds and helps to relieve joint pain. The Meadowsweet, Willow Bark, and Blackcurrant all plants with anti-inflammatory action whereas Nettle is traditionally used in the double action: remineralizing and anti-inflammatory. These plants can be associated with rosemary in local use, friction, or bath because its content of rosmarinic acid makes it possible to obtain a local anti-inflammatory action. Seek advice from your pharmacist for the use of these herbs.
– Purifying action. To cleanse the body and eliminate all toxins and pollutants that could cause inflammatory phenomena. In this case, it is especially the artichoke that is used orally for its depurative action at the level of the gallbladder and thus to effectively drain the waste.
Finally, associations of these different plants exist and allow comprehensive management of rheumatism pain.
*** Is Aromatherapy the Best Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain?
Caution: Essential oils are contraindicated for pregnant women and children under 6 years. Before using essential oil for the first time, an intolerance or an allergy must be detected by a test on the inside of the forearm. If redness and/or itching appear, do not use the product and do not expose to the sun within 3 hours after application of essential oil.
– Essential Oil of wintergreen: it is very rich in methyl salicylate and has anti-inflammatory properties comparable to that of aspirin but it is used only externally and diluted in vegetable oil like vegetable oil. ‘Arnica. Its heating and revulsive action make it a treatment of choice in cases of osteoarthritis or rheumatism.
– The essential oil of lemon eucalyptus is anti-inflammatory, antalgic, and antirheumatic. It can be used alone or incorporated in a diclofenac-based anti-inflammatory gel at the rate of 2 drops per dose of gel and not exceed 8-9 drops per day.
– Essential Oil Katafray: it is anti-inflammatory and analgesic and is used externally diluted in vegetable oil.
– There are also ready-to-use mixtures of essential oils and these gels, balms, oils or ointments are rich in essential oils traditionally used for their anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving action. Products in the form of bath blends may also be provided.
*** Is Oligotherapy the Best Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain?
Two ways of relief can be considered in oligotherapy: a treatment to act on the reconstitution of the cartilage containing Manganese and Sulfur and treatment to act on the inflammatory component and the pain with Granions of Gold, Selenium, Magnesium, and Zinc can be used.
*** Drugs Used in the Treatment Against Rheumatism
The advantage of conventional drug treatments against rheumatism is that they help relieve pain and fight inflammatory processes. To this end, we use very different families of drugs:
– Analgesics
– Anti-inflammatory and anti-pain medications without cortisone (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs) or with cortisone (anti-inflammatory steroids)
– Background treatments of synthesis
– Biotherapies (biotech background treatments) and biosimilars
– Medicines protecting the cartilage (chondroprotectors)
In Summary:
To treat rheumatism, several therapies are possible whose objective is primarily to relieve pain.
Analgesics:
The prescription of paracetamol (over-the-counter or prescription) can be effective in the treatment of rheumatism, as well as the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or even codeine-based drugs, in case of severe pain.
Anti-Inflammatories:
Anti-inflammatory drugs (corticosteroids) and analgesics act mainly to relieve pain but do not treat rheumatism.
The Infiltrations:
Injections of corticosteroids in the joints are often recommended when anti-inflammatory and analgesic treatments are ineffective at treating an inflammatory attack. This treatment is effective for a period of several days to a month and can be renewed (up to 3 times a year).
Prosthesis Placement:
In the most serious cases, if the joint is too damaged by rheumatism, it must be replaced by a surgically placed prosthesis.
Physiotherapy :
Rehabilitation is very useful for treating rheumatism, especially when a prosthesis is put in place, to avoid bad postures that increase discomfort.
Spa treatments:
Spa treatments can provide effective help through the beneficial effect of massages and physiotherapy sessions. By improving mobility, they make it possible to limit the consumption of analgesics and constitute an effective treatment of rheumatism.
Generally, to be covered by the Health Insurance, spa treatments must first be prescribed by a doctor who justifies that the patient suffers from a pathology that a spa can treat.