Introduction and Background

Arthritis Treatment and Pain Relief – A New FOCUS - Making The PAIN disappear.

Yes, various sufferers will tell you that they are aware that there is no real cure so to speak in medical terms for this condition in its various forms and severity. Treatment options vary depending on the type of arthritis and include physical and occupational therapy, medications (symptomatic or targeted at the disease process causing the arthritis), and as a last resort, arthroplasty. Although prosthetic joint replacement is a treatment of last resort, it is generally very effective and more than 90% of patients are very satisfied.

Arthritis is a very commonplace condition that has to do with inflammation of the joints. The umbrella term we so easily use covers a great many conditions. Groups of symptoms, aspects and factors, diagnoses and prognoses are covered with this terminology. Mostly the illness, condition and discomforts are due to damage caused to the joints of the body, impeding movement. It is no surprise then that arthritis is often cited as the ONE leading cause of disability in people over the age of 65, in the US and across the globe. But, how come, we as humans are so susceptible to this degradation? Why doesn’t everyone develop it? What should you do once you have been diagnosed with it to not sacrifice your mobility and quality of life?

These types of questions, inquiry and topics will form the basis of our musings here. Often, not a week will go by that you do not see, hear or bear witness to be exposed to some or other topical treatment or new product on the market that is either being toted as effective, affordable and reliable, new, being studied or introduced. Gels, ointments, patches, pads, rubs and more all fill our shelves and medicine cabinet in the fights against this degradation some suffer as we age and get on in our years.

Something that needs to be clarifies right upfront is that there are indeed many different forms of arthritis. There are differences in and for every manifestation of this condition.

It could be due to your immune-system malfunctioning, imbalances in your body, leaving it to attack itself, infections, uric acid crystals, inflammation calcium pyrophosphate crystal build-up and more.

Something that is the most common form of this ‘disease’, is known simply as osteoarthritis. This has to do with damage and degradation of the joints. It is degenerative, aggressive and debilitating, putting mobility, flexibility and movement ability at risk. This typically happens due to infection and/or aging mostly.

Regardless of the type or severity, onset of arthritis you might be falling victim to, or have the displeasure of having to cope with, there will be pain. It will differ in location and severity, manifestation and treatment options. It will differ from individual to individual, over time, at different times…. BUT it is an undeniable part of living with it and NOT HAVING IT AFFECT THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE OR PUT YOUR HEALTH AT RISK! It could be worse when sitting down or after periods of exertion. Different times of the day could bring different challenges and levels of pain. Earlier and later stages of the disease might be more or less painful to deal and cope with. It knows no boundaries for age, gender or generation! There are no exceptions, elderly, young adults, athletes; even children can be afflicted at different points in their lives. Whichever way you look at arthritis is will have pain in the equation. This is the reason for this guide. It is time for a practical hands-on treatment plan that works and gives advice on what to do to intervene, prevent, protect and manage ARTHRITIC PAIN.

To determine a formal diagnosis and the extent of the degradation or problems, a physical exam and some tests will be done by your doctor or medical treatment team to ascertain elements of the history of the pain when it begins and ends, how bad it is/gets, could be/become over time, which number of joints are affected, how long the pain lasts, what aggravates it and makes it worse and what makes it better *(and why).

Other tests that might also be done to determine which treatment option would be the best, would be

radiographs (assess and quantify, determine what it the matter, diagnosis, confirmation and baseline)
Blood tests and X-rays
Screening blood looking and testing for rheumatoid factor, antinuclear factor (ANF), extractable nuclear antigen and specific antibodies.

There are various different types of arthritis, each with its best form of treatment and wide array of causes, aggravating factors, lifestyle adjustments, therapies, remedies and MORE. We will take a closer look at some of the best plans and steps that you can make/take to MAKE ARTHRTIC PAIN DISAPPEAR! You can choose to treat the symptoms, to bring relief or dig deeper into the causality, more extreme procedures like surgery or replacement of the joint to get permanent relief (or not!). The opinions, experts and research are all divided and all over the spectrum.

It varies from most common forms of arthritis, arthritis due to other diseases as well as illnesses with similar symptoms to arthritis. They could include any, some or all of the following:

Ankylosing spondylitis
Crohn's Disease
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF)
Gout
Hemochromatosis
Henoch-Schönlein purpura
Hepatitis
HIDS (hyperimmunoglobulinemia D periodic fever syndrome)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Juvenile Arthritis
multiple myeloma
Osteo-arthritis
osteoporosis
Pierre Marie-Bamberger syndrome (hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy – lung cancer)
Psoriatic arthritis
Reactive arthritis (Reiter's syndrome)
Rheumatoid arthritis
Septic Arthritis
SLE
Still’s disease
TRAPS (TNF-alpha receptor associated periodic fever syndrome).
vasculitis syndromes
Wegener's granulomatosis