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Living with Arthritis: Arthritis Types, Symptoms, and Treatment for Seniors
Lisa Reisman • Aug 28, 2019
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Living with Arthritis
There are more than 100 different forms of arthritis in the world that affect millions of people. It’s a painful, debilitating disease that can cause changes you can see and feel such as swelling, warmth, and redness in your joints. Depending on the type of arthritis, pain can be short but intense. In others, it can be less noticeable but can still damage your joints over time. Understanding why arthritis causes so much pain will help you or a loved one handle it more appropriately in order to find the best therapy for the diagnosis.
What is Arthritis?
Perhaps you’ve seen someone hunched over holding their lower back in agony, or noticed someone who’s unable to write because their hand can’t grip the pen just right. These may be the crippling symptoms of arthritis. The term “arthritis” is not a single disease, but more so an informal way of referring to pain or joint disease. The most common symptoms of arthritis are swelling, pain, stiffness, and decreased range of motion. Symptoms can come and go as well as be mild, moderate or severe. Symptoms seemingly stay the same over a long period of time, but eventually the pain progresses. The pain can make it difficult to carry out daily tasks such as walking up and down stairs, using writing utensils, or something simple like brushing your hair.
What Kind of Arthritis do I have?
The types of arthritis can vary in how they affect your body. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is when the cartilage (the slick, cushioning surface on the ends of bones) wears away, allowing bone to rub against bone. The pain can be severe, and risk factors such as excessive weight gain, family history, age, and previous injuries can all play a role in its presence. People are most likely to develop osteoarthritis in the hands, neck, lower back, or any heavy weight bearing joints of the body. Symptoms of this type of arthritis can show in the form of stiffness and mild discomfort, and be associated with activities such as walking and bending.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the lining of a joint as if it were trying to protect you from an injury or disease. For example, if you get a tiny splinter in your finger, the finger would then become inflamed, red, and start to throb. Rheumatoid arthritis can attack any joint in the body, including the joints in the fingers, wrists, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, ankles, feet, and neck. Rheumatoid arthritis affects the body as a whole, so symptoms such as fever, weight loss, fatigue, and loss of appetite may be common. According to Greta M. Pelegrin, PharmD, the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis comprises a physical examination along with a blood test for the presence of rheumatoid factor (an antibody found in patients with RA); the presence of C-reactive protein (responsible for some inflammatory disorders); and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
Gout is the most painful type of arthritis, and starts when crystals of uric acid form in the connective tissue and/or joint spaces. These deposits lead to swelling, redness, heat, pain, and stiffness in the joint. People who suffer from gout should avoid eating foods such as shellfish, liver, dried beans, peas, anchovies, and gravy because often times they can trigger an attack. Gout is commonly an issue in the big toe, but can affect other joints like elbows, ankles, knees, and wrists.
Pain Management & Treatment
Each type of arthritis is treated differently, however there are a couple common ways to deal with arthritis that include rest, exercise, eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, and learning the right way to use and protect your joints. If you have a family member who suffers from pain due to arthritis, take them to get fitted for certain types of support shoes and a cane— this will help with pain in the knees and hips when walking. There are certain tools that can help open jars and doors as well if a person suffers from pain in the wrists and fingers.
A panel of doctors with experience diagnosing and treating issues relating to chronic pain say that chronic pain is a complex disease requiring an “integrated, interdisciplinary approach.” They routinely use various combinations of drug-based, interventional, psychological and nonmedical therapies. “It’s not unlike blood pressure medications,” Dr. Buvanendran says. “They don’t work very well if you don’t exercise and control your diet. In the same way, we take a multidisciplinary approach to chronic pain.”
It’s typical for doctors to write prescriptions for opioid-based painkillers, and even more typical for the older community suffering from more than one type of pain, to become addicted. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as naproxen, celecoxib and ibuprofen most definitely have a place in this world— they key is finding the appropriate and most effective drug for the pain and using it on an as-needed basis. “There are many different NSAIDs, and patients respond to them differently. Finding the correct agent takes trial-and-error,” Dr. Kramskiy says. “Patients often think if one doesn’t work, we’ve failed, but that’s often not the case. NSAIDs should only be used when they are needed most – for example, first thing in the morning or after exercise – to avoid serious gastrointestinal, cardiac and renal side effects.” He also stresses that pain relievers should be used within the larger context of lifestyle changes and therapies that help slow disease progression. “We want to minimize symptoms and improve function to avoid long-term [use of painkillers],” he says.
Injections are another solution to pain management caused from arthritis. Hydraulic acid occurs naturally in cartilage, and can be injected into painful joints and provide patients with osteoarthritis weeks, and even months of relief. Vladimir Kramskiy, MD, a neurologist and director of the Ambulatory Recuperative Pain Medicine Program at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, says that in the best scenarios, people with early disease may respond well to injections for years before the arthritis progresses to the point of needing surgery. Another beneficial needle prick may be trying acupuncture, a form of traditional Chinese medicine involving thin needles inserted into the skin, which often times can provide pain relief for a number of issues.
You’re Not Alone
Living with chronic pain caused by arthritis affects more than 50 million Americans, and according to the Arthritis Foundation
1,814, 000 of them live in Georgia. Connecting with those who understand what it’s like to deal with arthritis might help you handle your diagnosis and treatment plan a bit easier. The Arthritis Foundation hosts personalized, goal-setting events helping you learn ways to live with rheumatoid arthritis alongside a local rheumatologist. In addition, the Arthritis Foundation of Georgia has recently partnered with the Aquatic Exercise Association, helping those with arthritis find exercise routines such as Tai Chi, to stay active and healthy.
Most importantly, encourage your loved one to talk about her pain with her doctor, therapist or a family member. Living with arthritis doesn’t have to be something you or your loved one has to go through alone. There are plenty of people who are going through the same thing.
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