Chronic Arthritis Pain

While many people think of bad backs when they think of chronic pain, chronic arthritis pain is probably the most common cause of pain, and in fact is probably the most common chronic disease for people past the age of 40.
We think of arthritis as something that happens in our "senior years," but over half of people with arthritis are under age 65. You may think of arthritis as a disease of joints in the legs or hands, but many people develop arthritis in the lumbar and cervical spine, resulting in chronic back or neck pain.

Types of Arthritis

Since you've found your way to this blog, you probably already have quite a bit of information on what type of arthritis you have. For those who would like more information, take a look at these pages on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis pain.
Arthritis Pain Management Options

pain management Since chronic arthritis pain does not have a cure, it become important for you to have a good management system in place. Work with your doctor to find the best balance of traditional and alternative therapies for you.

For that to work, you need a doctor with at least two characteristics:

1) Listens well enough to tailor a plan specific to your needs, and to get feedback about how your current plan is working, and

2) Has an open mind to the role of alternative pain management techniques.

If you've got that, then your way ahead of the game.

Chronic Knee Pain and Arthritis

Your knees are joints that are very prone to the development of osteoarthritis. Read more about the reasons for this, and some recent research on new treatments, at the Arthritis Knee Pain page.

Conventional Arthritis Pain Management

Your doctor will go over the pain medicine options for managing chronic arthritis pain. That should include information on over-the-counter medications and prescription medicines (both narcotic and non-narcotic).
I believe that almost everyone can benefit from some or all of the alternative pain management techniques available for arthritis. Consider alternative techniques if:

*You prefer holistic treatment to medical treatment when possible,

*You are concerned about medication side effects,

*You can't afford prescription medications, or

*You are not getting sufficient relief of your pain.

Alternative Arthritis Pain Management

There are a number of alternative methods for managing arthritis pain that have some demonstrated effectiveness. These include:

*Changes in diet and use of supplements for arthritis pain,

*Exercise programs tailored to the needs of people with arthritis,

*Acupuncture,

*Relaxation training, hypnosis and/or imagery, and

*Psychosocial support