No matter the type of arthritis, there is a
general medical treatment approach employing medications designed to reduce pain and inflammation. Once this is done, a doctor will focus on the underlying cause of the disease and use specific treatments for each condition:
- Infectious arthritis is often treated with antibiotics.
- There are anti-gout medications and pseudogout treatments.
- Osteoarthritis (Degenerative Joint Disease) is treated using anti-inflammatory medications and sometimes, direct injections into the joint.
- Rheumatoid arthritis has a wide variety of treatments, all designed to calm inflammation and lessen the body’s self-attacks.
(See
Pharmaceutical Treatment Modalities for details on the general and condition-specific options.)
Physical therapy is often employed in chronic types of arthritis, and generally involves keeping the joint limber by moving the joint through its whole range of motion, sometimes in water.
Other traditional treatments involve
mental health consultations to help deal with chronic pain, and
lifestyle improvements such as better diet and exercise.
A wide range of natural
supplements including herbs and other nutrients have been shown to be very successful in supporting the reduction of pain and inflammation, and the destruction of the joints in arthritis.
Acupuncture has also been used with some success.
