Archive for November, 2009

How to Ease Psoriatic Arthritis Symptoms

Posted by admin On November - 30 - 2009Comments Off

There is no known cure for Psoriatic Arthritis, but there are many therapies that can be used in addition to medicine to prevent and ease the symptoms.

Psoriatic Arthritis is an autoimmune disease, meaning that the cells and antibodies of the immune system are diverted against one’s own tissues. Rarely, a person can have psoriatic arthritis without even having obvious pain. Often, however, the more severe the skin symptoms are, the greater the likelihood a person will have psoriatic arthritis, a form of inflammatory arthritis.

What can I do to prevent and ease symptoms of psoriatic arthritis?

Once you comprehend and learn to foresee the ways in which your body responds to psoriatic arthritis, you can use medicines, work out and utilize other therapies to lighten discomfort and lower stress levels and tiredness. Again, there is no cure for psoriatic arthritis. But there are many ways to prevent and ease its symptoms.

What is hot and cold treatment and how does it work?

Heat and cold therapy involves alternating damp heat and cold to affected joints to provide momentary relief of pain and inflammation associated with psoriatic arthritis. Moist heat — supplied by a tepid towel, hot pack, or warm bath or shower — can help loosen up aching muscles and relieve joint pain and soreness. Cold therapy — supplied by a bag of ice or even frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel — can reduce puffiness and relieve pain by anaesthetizing the affected joints.

What else can I do to help me to become less pained with my Psoriatic Arthritis?

Recently, it has been shown that vitamin D might actually improve the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. Other areas of research involve treatment with medications that can adjust the immune system of patients with psoriatic arthritis. As the immune system changes and genetics are better defined in this illness, the effectiveness of these medical treatments will advance.

Instruction is one of the foundations for managing this chronic and typically relapsing disorder. People with psoriasis should be aware with the treatment possibilities in order to make appropriate and informed decisions about therapy. The National Psoriasis Foundation is an admirable organization that provides support to people with psoriasis.

What’s the outlook for psoriatic arthritis?

Psoriatic arthritis tends to alternate between times of severe pain and discomfort and periods of improvement. Every so often, psoriatic arthritis may lead to joint damage and severe disability. A few people may need surgery.

To prevent psoriatic arthritis from deterioration, stay on your prescribed medications to control inflammation, pain, and stiffness. Be meticulous in doing your daily exercise program to keep your joints moving in full range of motion. If you notice any new signs or pain, check with your doctor or arthritis specialist.

Doing these things will benefit you in the long run as it will stop you from developing a disease that is debilitating and currently we can not cure. It will also give you peace of mind and good health.

Dealing With Hip Pain

Posted by admin On November - 25 - 2009Comments Off

If you are suffering from hip pain, it may be difficult to do some activities like going up the stairs, squatting and sleeping on your side. There are times when you encounter clicking sound on the hip section that may cause you to worry. If it is not painful, there is nothing to need to seek the doctor. Minor hip problems can be cured at home like putting hot or cold compress. To better understand hip problems, you must know how the hip works. The largest bone and socket in the body is composed by the femur and acetabulum. Compared to shoulder joint, it is much tighter and stable. You could find muscles, ligaments and tendons that surround the area. There are sacs that serve as cushion and lubricated the hip joints to make it move smoothly.

Hip pain occurs when you overuse the area. The bone changes due to age, tumors, infections and other problems that maybe present at birth. Take note that if you have hip problem you can feel it in knee or thigh. There are different types of hip pain and based on this, the doctor can determine its cause. Pain when resting is caused by less severe reasons. Observe if the pain is not stopping or if it awakes you when you sleep. When you feel pain when you move, it is caused by injury, inflammation and infection. If you feel pain when you stand or walk then the problem is severe. It could be serious joint problem.

There are many causes of hip problem. It can be caused by iliotibial band syndrome. Conditions that happen in teenagers are slipped capital femoral epiphysis or diseases in leg and calves. If you pain is worst in the morning, it could be lupus, osteoarthritis and rheumatism. Pain could also be a sign of inflammation on the large sac which is responsible for separating the hipbones from thighs and butt. Hip pain maybe a sign of infection like septic arthritis, septic bursitis and osteomyelitis. Another cause of hip pain is lack of blood on the hip joints. If there are shooting pain coming from the hip and lower back, this can be caused by pinch nerve. There is a type of bone cancer that affects the hips. If this spread, it can cause bone pain.

If you are feeling pain related to weight bearing, this would gradually worsen that could lead to transient osteoporosis. Commonly, they affect middle age men. Pregnant women may also encounter this in the third trimester. It goes away after few months of delivery.

There are various treatments for the hip depending on the location and severity of the problem. You can also consider the person’s age, overall health and present activities that he or she is engaged in. First aid applications like brace or cast are applied after an injury to prevent hip problems to get worst. You can also opt for physical therapy and surgery procedure. There are medicines that you can take to alleviate the pain.

Alleviate Knee Pain With Hyaluronic Acid Injection

Posted by admin On November - 10 - 2009Comments Off

For people with osteoarthritis, they are advice to engage in exercise and other physical activities. Unfortunately knee pain is not just about it. Osteoarthritis is accompanied with joint pain and stiffness. Because of this, it is difficult to walk and do other physical activities. There are people who found oral arthritis medications to be ineffective. The best alternative is to undergo hyaluronic acid injections.

The procedure is also known as viscosupplements. The main purpose of this is to add hyaluronic acid to the joints. This fluid can help in lubricating the joints in order to keep them working smoothly. It also acts as shock absorber that can keep the bones from getting all the impact when you walk or do some activities. If you are suffering from osteoarthritis, the hyaluronic acid in your joints decreases. Injecting these acids in your joint area can supplement the ones that were lost. Normally the acid stays on your joints for hours and days.

There are several brands of hyaluronic acids that are accepted and approved for osteoarthritis. It includes Euflexxa, Hyalgan, Orthovisc and Supartz. The doctor will give you 3 to 5 shots with a week interval. The procedure for hyaluronic acid is simple. First the doctor would clean the area. In some cases, the knees are swollen with liquids and the doctor would have to withdraw this and there is a need for local anesthesia. Using the same needle, the hyaluronic acid would be injected to the knee joint. It is advisable that the patient should avoid lifting activity for a day or two.

There are cases wherein the procedure works better with some people. It is proven to be less effective for the elderly and those people with severe osteoarthritis condition. There are studies that were done to know how effective this is as part of osteoarthritis treatment. In 2002, a study was published that show it has a short term effect. There are seven studies also published in 2006 that show slight benefits of this injection. There are also research done that involve hundreds of people the result to hyaluronic acid being better than placebo drug given to half of the subject. Recently, the hyaluronic acid is compared with anti inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. They work just as well and it could last for six months to a year.

So far there are no long term effects of the said treatment. There are just a few short term ones noted like minor pain in the area after the injection. There is also a tendency of joint fluid build up that can last only for few days. There are some people who can benefit from these injection like those who are experiencing knee osteoarthritis symptoms but don’t respond to treatments. It can also work for those who can’t take oral medicines or those who have undergone knee replacement surgery. It is best to discuss with your doctor how hyaluronic acid injection can help. There are insurance companies that can cover the procedure.