Conventional and Alternative Treatment of Arthritis

Arthritis

Arthritis is conditions that impinge on the joints and surrounding tissues. It is the inflammation of joints. Joints are points in the body where bones are attached to each other. For instance knees, wrists, fingers, toes, and hips. Arthritis is of two types; “osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis”.

“Osteoarthritis” (OA) is a type of arthritis in which the individual feels pain at joints and the joint become degenerative. This disease involves “the joints of the hips, knees, neck, lower back, or small joints of the hands”. This disease develops by the excess use of joints by performing a specific task. The excessive activity eventually removes the cartilage that is present between the joints. as a result rubbing of joints takes place. This leads to the reduction in flexibility of joints and the spurs develop in the bone. Due to formation of spurs the joints swell and become painful.

The initial symptom of OA is pain that exacerbate during exercise or immobility. The medical Treatment involves analgesics, topical creams, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Treatment also involves “suitable exercises or physical therapy; splinting of joint; or surgery of joint replacement for critically damaged larger joints, such as the knee or hip”.

“Rheumatoid arthritis” (RA) is an autoimmune disease that involves the inflammation of joints in the fingers, thumbs, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, feet, and ankles. An autoimmune disease includes the mechanism in which the body liberates enzymes that assault its own tissues. RA involves the destruction of the linings of joints by these enzymes. These results “in pain, swelling, stiffness, malfunction, and minimized movement of joints” (www.niams.nih.gov).

Conventional Medical Treatment of Arthritis

Conventional therapy for RA initiates with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

(NSAIDs). In recent days a new drug known as COX-2 inhibitors is also used for conventional therapy. In extreme cases, doctors prescribe glucocorticoids “disease-modifying drugs” (for example gold or methotr-exate) all these treatments do not cure the disease. In fact most of the medications also contribute for adverse affects. NSAIDs produce more gastrointestinal side effects than COX-2 inhibitors (Alan R, 1999).

The PatientTrends (US) 2013 reports on Rheumatoid Arthritis that conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are proved to be most useful, due to their formulations that are oral and generic availability. Except Pfizer's Xeljanz is a new oral drug for rheumatoid arthritis, which is not liked by the patients because of the post-exposure to Xeljanz's profile. According to ...