04 May Treating Your Arthritis Effectively
Does arthritis pain affect your daily life? If so, you’re not alone! 54.4 million have already been diagnosed with arthritis, with two of its most common forms consisting of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of joint cartilage and bone, also known as degenerative joint disease. Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation in the joints resulting in pain, deformity and limited mobility. The breakdown of the cartilage (or cushion) between your joints can lead to pain, swelling and inflammation, stiffness, reduced range of motion and more. Once diagnosed, that doesn’t mean you have to live with the debilitating symptoms of arthritis! At our office, we provide chiropractic care, gentle manipulation, exercise, massage and more to stretch and tone your muscles, reduce inflammation in your joints and combat your pain. Even a quick fix with a joint injection can make a world of a difference in your daily living! Arthritis does not have to bog you down or cause you pain. With proper care at Mile High Spine & Pain Center, we can combat your arthritis pain and change the way you see life!
Arthritis by the Numbers
The CDC estimates that 78 million U.S. adults will be diagnosed with arthritis by 2040. That means more than 20 million will be diagnosed in about the next 20 years, or 1 million more people per year. The CDC also reports that about one in two people will develop age-related arthritis (usually in the knees) by the time they are 85. Arthritis most commonly presents itself in the knees, hips, wrists or fingers, as these joints are used very frequently. Arthritis usually is caused by wear and tear over time as the cartilage becomes worn between joints, allowing them to grind together. That is why it’s so prevalent later on in life. Healthy cartilage allows the bones to glide over one another smoothly with day-to-day activities. With arthritis, the degeneration of the cartilage between joints and its associated inflammation does not allow that. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the most common forms of arthritis and the most debilitating.
Osteoarthritis: What Is It?
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and is the degeneration of joint cartilage and bone, also known as “degenerative joint disease”. The “cushion” part of your joints is the cartilage that is present between bones and joints. This cushion/cartilage makes it so the bones don’t mash together when you move, which is painful. In someone that suffers with osteoarthritis, the cartilage between the joints actually does break down and wear away, so that bones are moving against one another when movements are made. If you suffer from osteoarthritis, you know how painful this can be! Osteoarthritis is considered a physical damage disorder without a systemic component (meaning it doesn’t affect your immune system). This is in direct opposition to rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: What Is It?
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) causes inflammation in the joints resulting in pain, deformity and limited mobility. But, it also includes symptoms such as fever and fatigue when the general immune system is over-activated. This is because the immune system generally attacks bacteria, viruses and foreign objects to the body that shouldn’t be there. But, with the case of RA, the body actually attacks the joints, causing tissue inflammation to the inside of the joints, making them swollen and painful. When inflammation continues without treatment, it will damage the cartilage and wear it down. Sometimes joint damage cannot be reversed, so it is always smart to get treatment early, especially for the pain and symptoms that comes with RA!
Our Treatments for Arthritis Pain
We don’t ever want our patients to be in pain for any reason. Arthritis is common, but that doesn’t mean arthritis pain needs to be a common part of your day. At our office, we provide chiropractic care and gentle manipulation to rehabilitate your body and relieve tension and pressure on your joints. We also work to stretch and tone your muscles, reduce inflammation in your joints and combat your pain. Joint injections are powerful tools that take just a moment of your time, but provide such amazing pain relief. Some of the treatments we offer are:
- Chiropractic Care – We provide natural, drugless treatments to manipulate the body’s muscular, nervous and skeletal systems and stimulate the body’s inherent healing ability. Properly aligning the body will relieve tension on muscles and joints, which can significantly improve your arthritis pain. It will also help improve your range of motion. You will see a positive change in the way your body moves and feels with our chiropractic care.
- Joint Injections – Our patients love our joint injections! We provide injections of cortisone for immediate relief of pain. The cortisone works to stop inflammation and to lubricate the joints so that the pain of the grinding is greatly diminished. It’s like a power shot to the joints that will help you be pain free for weeks.
- Massage Therapy – There are many healing benefits of massage, especially when it comes to releasing tension in the body. We use massage and gentle manipulation to restore flexibility to a stiff wrist or knee. These movements are gentle, but over time you should see an improvement in how much you can move. Less stiffness = less pain.
- Exercise Programs – Working the muscles and joints can actually help them to be more healthy and less painful. We look at your unique needs and symptoms and come up with effective exercise programs that can lower your irritation without further damage to the joint.
It’s true that about half the population will struggle with arthritis sometime in their life. That doesn’t mean that arthritis has to be debilitating or painful. If you suffer from arthritis pain, call our Mile HIgh Spine & Pain Center today at (720) 507-0080 and see how we can help you be pain free!