Osteoarthritis medical therapy

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Medical Therapy

As all medical diseases, the prevention and the early diagnosis and onetime treatment of OA play important roles patient final outcome. The treatment of OA can be categorized into two nonsurgical and surgical options. Meanwhile the non-surgical treatments are often effective enough as the first line in patients management. Actually, the Osteoarthritis treatment is a combination of medical and physical therapy.

Medications

Drug therapy in OA management play important rolls in relieving pain and slow downing the progression of this disease. Meanwhile, common medications are:

• NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs): Including: aspirin, ibuprofen (e.g. Advil), naproxen (e.g. Aleve), cox-2 inhibitors) are used to reduce the inflammation and swelling as a common findings in OA.
  • Meanwhile, the Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate supplements are used in the United States as an alternative treatment for OA. And, for patients experiencing moderate-to-severe pain due to the knees osteoarthritis or spine osteoarthritis, they might be helpful by interacting with the diseased cartilage.

• Analgesics: Including: acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol), or tramadol (e.g. Ultram) are used to reduce the pain, without any effects on inflammation or swelling. Analgesics are recommended for patients experiencing mild to moderate pain because they could cause limited variety of side effects fro patients.
• Topical analgesics: are are creams which can be used to reduce the pain in diseased joint. They applied directly to the skin over the affected area. And these creams are consisted of counterrritants (wintergreen and eucalyptus) having a great effects on pain reduction.

Injections

Steroids (corticosteroid ) can be used through injecting into the joint and reduce the inflammation, swelling, and pain in diseased joint. For cases with moderate to severe pain affecting patients daily life, this procedure (steroid injections) can provide a very helpful and important opportunity giving patients a pain free or pain limited situations encourages them to continue their medication and physical therapy.

Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis Video

Hyaluronic acid injections are another injection modality designed to help lubricate the joint and reduce the pain and inflammation of the joint. These injections attempt to help replace the joint’s natural fluid and are sometimes described as "paving the pot holes in the joint." By reducing the inflammation and pain in the joint, as with steroid injections, a "window of opportunity" is opened up for the patient to stretch and strengthen the appropriate muscles. If the patient does not use this window, then often symptoms recur in 6-12 months at which point the injections can be repeated if necessary.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy help diseased joint to preserve its the ability for daily tasks like: walking, dressing, and even bathing. Because having moderate activity strengthen the muscles around the diseased joint and this stronger muscle reduce stress and increase the stability of joint system. On the other hand, resting is an other important healing factor in OA.