Arthritis (Rheumatics) Drugs Online:

What is Arthritis?

Definitions

The word arthritis comes from Greek:  
arth- = joint and -itis = inflammation.

So, arthritis really means inflammation of the joint.

However, arthritis is not a single condition. There are well over 150 kinds of arthritis, all of which affect one or more joints in the body, and some of these forms of arthritis don't involve any inflammation.

Perhaps it is more useful to think of arthritis meaning problems with the joint.

The Anatomy of a Joint

A joint is a meeting of two bones so that movement can occur.

From learning about the importance of exercising regularly to fully understanding your arthritis medications, the information contained in this section is meant to provide you with insights, information and tips that can be used by you to help make living with arthritis a little bit more manageable.

Pain is one of the hallmark symptoms of arthritis. It may come and go as your arthritis goes into a flare or subsides in remission, but for most people with the disease it will never entirely disappear.

We understand a little of how pain works, but not all by any means. We have words to describe its effects, yet they can never entirely convey to someone else what you are feeling. And almost any two people will experience different levels or intensities of pain from virtually identical causes. Because your pain is entirely your own, you may never fully understand exactly what the someone else is going through.

Persistent, severe pain from arthritis requires a combination of therapeutic strategies; no one pill or management technique is enough to provide non-stop pain relief safely. Arthritis medications are only one part of an overall strategy that will help you reduce and cope with your pain, improve joint function and daily-living activities, and learn to deal with the emotional stresses that arthritis can impose. Maintaining that multi-part strategy successfully is only possible if you understand as much as you can about pain, how it can be treated, and what role you can play in its relief. Not every strategy will be equally effective for everyone; you need to discover what works for you, combining different approaches to prolong pain relief.

There's a lot to learn, but the more you understand about every aspect of your treatment plan, the more likely you are to benefit from it. Knowledge really is power. Learn to wield that power as an active participant of your own treatment team. Learn as much as you can about all the strategies available to you — whether they're medications or non-medicinal techniques. That understanding is an important step toward your becoming an arthritis self-manager.

One of the most difficult things to accept about arthritis is that there's no cure - not yet, anyway. Not only that, but, for some people with some forms of arthritis, current therapeutic strategies simply aren't as effective as they'd like them to be. You may have stuck to your prescribed treatment plan with complete faithfulness for what seems like an eternity - and you're still experiencing severe levels of pain, reduced physical function and decreasing mobility. Well, then, what about trying something else? What about all of those other approaches that your doctor hasn't tried? What have you got to lose by trying one?

That's a question that doctors deal with practically every day, and there's no easy answer. Some doctors may encourage or support your use of a complementary therapy - providing it's safe and doesn't reduce the potential effectiveness of their prescribed treatment. The problem is, some complementary therapies aren't safe. Plus, if you ignore your prescribed treatment plan to try one, you could be doing yourself out of the benefits - however small they may seem to you at the time - that a long-term therapeutic strategy can provide.

There are a number of alternative or complementary therapies that may offer real benefits to some people with arthritis, and increasingly these days, doctors and scientists are accepting that some of these previously dismissed therapies merit investigation. Some of these therapies in fact - such as acupuncture - have been embraced by a good number of physicians and are being used widely by patients.

The results, however, are highly individual, and not all complementary therapies have equal validity. Before you try anything outside your treatment plan, learn what you can about these things. Then talk to your doctor about them.

Once a diagnosis of arthritis is made, your doctor will review with you some of the options for treatment. Treatment will likely include non-medication therapies - such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, exercise and relaxation techniques - as well as medications.

Medical treatment of arthritis can be divided into two main categories:

Treatment to control the symptoms of pain, stiffness and swelling

• Painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications are in this category.

• These medications usually take days to weeks to begin to work.

• These medications may make you feel better, but they do not affect the course of the arthritis, nor will they prevent the damage to bones and joints that can occur with the disease.

Treatment to control the disease itself

• These medications, used primarily for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis, work to help prevent joint damage that can lead to deformities. They will help keep your joints healthy for many years to come.

• These medications often take six weeks to six months to begin to have an effect. They work to address the root of the problem in inflammatory arthritis. Shutting down all the inflammatory processes can take a long time, but the result of healthy joints will be worth it.

Drugs from both of these categories are often used in combination. A new group of drugs called Biologic Agents is now also used to control arthritis.

At various times in the course of your arthritis (and over the years of your life), you may need different kinds of medications: You'll almost certainly need non-prescription analgesics for pain relief; to counter inflammation, you may also be prescribed NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or cortisone; to arrest the progress of your disease, you may be prescribed a slower-acting DMARD (a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug), or a combination of DMARDs.

Medications are likely to become an intimate part of your life. To maximize their effectiveness, you need to take an active role in your treatment and to better understand your medications. Arthritis medications are only one part - albeit an essential one - of an overall strategy that will help you reduce and cope with your pain, improve joint function and daily-living activities, and learn to deal with the emotional stresses that arthritis can impose. There's a lot to learn, but the more you understand about your medications - what they're expected to achieve, how they should be taken, what side effects to expect and how they fit into your treatment plan - the more likely you are to benefit from them.

This Web site is a good place to start. It can't replace your doctor's knowledge and expertise, but having access to this information can help you begin to participate more fully in your treatment plan and make informed decisions about your medications.