Arthritis Pain Management- Ask the Expert

Living with Arthritis: 

Arthritis which is the scientific term for the affection of the joints is a common condition encountered by people in their middle ages. There can be different types of arthritis. The most common being osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The common symptoms of arthritis are pain and rigidity of the joints. There may be some other symptoms like redness and heat of the joint, swelling or inflammation of the joint and reducing the movements of the joint.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease affecting the fingers, knees and hips and occurs as the person ages. There is a joint cartilage underlying the bone in the human body. When this cartilage breaks due to wearing out and results into a damage to the bone, the resultant condition is osteoarthritis. It commonly affects the joints which are near the ends of the fingers and near the bases of the thumbs, knee joint, hip joint, joints of neck and lower back. The joints of one side of the body are more affected than the other side. Mechanical stress to the joints is believed to be the primary cause of the condition.

Treatment is exercising, resting to reduce joint stress, using a cane to support in movement and taking medications for pain. Weight loss is advised in obese patients and the last option is joint replacement.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

A condition resulting from the long term autoimmune disorder affecting the joints. The joints of the wrist and hand are affected on both the sides of the body. The typical characteristics are warmth of the joints along with swelling (inflammation) of the joint and painful joints. The causes of this condition are genetic and environmental. The immune system of the body causes the thickening of the joint capsule.

Treatment is aimed at pain reduction, reducing inflammation and improvement in the person’s overall functioning. Rest, exercise, splints and braces are very helpful along with the use of assisted devices. The pain medications along with the “Disease modifying ant rheumatic drugs” have shown positive results in improvement of a person’s condition.

Prevalence:

Osteoarthritis affects more than 3.8% of people while rheumatoid arthritis affects about 0.24% of people. Gout affects about 1–2% of the Western population at some point in their lives. In Australia about 15% of people are affected, while in the United States more than 20% have a type of arthritis. Overall the disease becomes more common with age. Arthritis is a common reason that people miss work and can result in a decreased quality of life.

Treating Arthritis:

• Physical Therapy: This includes exercising; occupational therapy has been shown to significantly improve function, decrease pain, and delay need for surgical intervention in advanced cases. Exercise prescribed by a physical therapist has been shown to be more effective than medications in treating osteoarthritis of the knee. Exercise often focuses on improving muscle strength, endurance and flexibility. In some cases, exercises may be designed to train balance. It can provide assistance with activities.

• Medications: There are several types of medications that are used for the treatment of arthritis. Treatment typically begins with medications that have the fewest side effects with further medications being added if needed.

• Adaptive Aids: People with hand arthritis can have trouble with simple activities of daily living tasks (ADLs), such as turning a key in a lock or opening jars, as these activities can be cumbersome and painful. There are adaptive aids or (assistive devices (ADs)) available to help with these tasks, but they are generally more costly than conventional products with the same function.

• Surgery: A number of rheumatological interventions have been incorporated in the treatment of arthritis since the 1950s.  Arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee provides no additional benefit to optimized physical and medical therapy

What is Arthroscopy?

 Also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision The advantage over traditional open surgery is that the joint does not have to be opened up fully. For knee arthroscopy only two small incisions are made, one for the arthroscope and one for the surgical instruments to be used in the knee cavity. This reduces recovery time and may increase the rate of success due to fewer traumas to the connective tissue.

Who is Best Arthroscopic Surgeon in India?

Dr. Sanjiv Kumar Singh Marya is Best Arthroscopic Surgeon in India. Currently serving as the Chairman Bone and Joint Institute Medanta, the Medicity Gurugram, he has a vast experience of 35 years in orthopedic surgery and medicine. Having conducted more than 15000 joint replacement surgeries, Dr Marya is the Best Knee Replacement Surgeon in Gurugram who has conducted 3500 simultaneous knee replacement surgeries and 3000 hip replacement surgeries.

The best orthopedic surgeon at Medanta, Gurugram has many awards and fellowships to his credits namely the AO Trauma Fellowship in Switzerland, Fellowship of International College of Surgeons, USA and Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England to name a few.

I want to consult Dr. SKS Marya

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Call to: +91-9765025331

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