How to treat arthritis

Arthritis is a relatively common orthopedic disease, especially in areas with colder and more humid living environments. There are many patients with arthritis, and there are dozens of types of arthritis. Many joints in the human body are likely to suffer from arthritis, and when the disease occurs, there will be symptoms such as swelling, pain, redness and heat. In severe cases, it may also lead to joint deformation, disability, etc., seriously affecting the patient's life and work.

The cause of arthritis is also very complex. It is not only related to inflammation in the body, the patient's own immune system, metabolic disorders or traumatic lesions, etc., but environmental changes can also cause great trouble to arthritis patients. If you suffer from arthritis, you need to pay attention to keeping warm and moisture-proof, eat a reasonable diet, maintain a good and regular lifestyle, etc. What many patients are most concerned about is how to treat arthritis. Let me give you a brief introduction below.

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1. Medication

Choose appropriate treatment drugs based on the type of arthritis, characteristics of symptoms, and concomitant diseases. The principle of treatment is early diagnosis and early, reasonable, combined medication. Commonly used anti-rheumatic drugs are as follows:

(1) Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins and quickly produce anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. They are effective in relieving pain, but they cannot change the course of the disease. Commonly used drugs in clinical practice include glucosamine hydrochloride granules, ibuprofen, penicillamine, diclofenac, aspirin, indomethacin, etc.

(2) Slow-acting antirheumatic drugs are mostly used for rheumatoid arthritis and seronegative spondyloarthropathies. It has a certain control effect on the disease but the effect is slow. Commonly used ones include gold mixture (intramuscular injection or oral administration), penicillamine, sulfasalazine, chloroquine, etc.

(3) Cytotoxic drugs produce immunosuppressive effects through different pathways. Commonly used ones include cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and Jin Duchun. They are often second-line drugs for systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and vasculitis. Although they have more and more serious side effects, they play a big role in improving the prognosis of these diseases.

(4) Adrenal cortical hormones are anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic drugs that significantly improve the prognosis of connective tissue diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, but they cannot cure these diseases. Its numerous side effects increase with increasing dosage and prolonged treatment course, so when using it, its efficacy and side effects should be weighed and selected with caution.

(5) Antibiotics and other streptococcal infections can cause arthritis symptoms of rheumatic fever. Penicillin used in the acute phase is the most effective drug for controlling streptococcal infection. Patients with acute rheumatic fever should use long-acting antibiotics for a long time to prevent the occurrence of long-term rheumatic carditis. Prevention for adults should not be less than 5 years, and for children should be maintained until at least 18 years old. Tuberculous arthritis and fungal arthritis require active and effective treatment with anti-tuberculosis or antifungal drugs.

(6) Treatment of gouty arthritis includes drug treatment in the acute phase, including high-dose nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or colchicine, and uric acid-lowering treatment in the remission phase. Uric acid-lowering drugs mainly include allopurinol, which inhibits uric acid production, and benzbromarone, which promotes uric acid excretion.

2. Surgical treatment

Surgical treatment mainly includes joint puncture, synovectomy, joint replacement, joint orthopedics, and joint fusion.

3. Bone marrow transplant

It does have significant therapeutic effects in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Autologous bone marrow transplantation, which restores the immune system to promote recovery, has achieved good results in treating childhood rheumatoid arthritis.

4. Immunotherapy and biological therapy

This type of treatment targets the main link in the onset of arthritis and the progression of the disease, such as targeted molecule therapy for cytokines, plasma exchange, immune purification, immune reconstitution, mesenchymal stem cell transplantation, etc. It is mainly used for patients with severe arthritis that is ineffective with other treatments, rapidly progressing and refractory, mainly rheumatoid arthritis.

5. Other treatments

Including physical, rehabilitation, vocational training, psychological and other treatments. The main types of physical therapy are as follows: direct current electrotherapy and drug ion introduction, low-frequency pulse electrotherapy, medium-frequency current therapy, high-frequency electrotherapy, magnetic field therapy, ultrasound therapy, acupuncture, light therapy, namely infrared, ultraviolet, and cold therapy. Rehabilitation and vocational training focus on functional training and lifestyle adjustments. Hospitals with the necessary conditions should conduct functional training under the guidance of rehabilitation specialists. Maintaining an optimistic mood, eliminating depression, and fighting the disease with a positive attitude are of great significance to the treatment of arthritis.

Arthritis patients need to do proper exercise in their daily lives. Don’t always stop moving when they feel joint pain, as this is not conducive to recovery. In addition, maintaining a happy mood and improving one’s own immunity can also help the recovery and control of arthritis.