Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Options You Get from a Rheumatologist
A rheumatologist is the medical professional that you should go to if you think that there is something wrong with your muscles, bones, and joints. These professionals are experts in conditions affecting these parts of your body, most especially arthritis. When it comes to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), people who suffer from this condition will be discussing with this doctor what their rheumatoid arthritis treatment options are.
Though there are different rheumatoid arthritis treatment options that you can choose from, each of them exists to accomplish several things. These goals include sending the disease into remission, modifying the disease process, reducing symptom severity and duration, reducing systemic inflammation, and improving general health.
When it comes to these rheumatoid arthritis treatments, they are done to treat the disease primarily and even aggressively deal with its causes. However, patients are still entitled to receive relief from the symptoms of RA.
Treatment of symptoms is something that rheumatologists make sure to offer to their patients. For mild to moderate symptoms of RA like stiffness and joint pain, your doctor will prescribe you with over the counter medications and supplements. The use of pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs can deal with these symptoms.
The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen are effective for symptoms of low grade. Their continued use, however, is highly discouraged with their serious side effects like stomach bleeding. For pain relievers like oxycodone, hydrocodone, and opioids, they are used to treat serious pain.
Usually, if the synovial membrane is already inflamed because of RA, surgery is already indicated. The aim of this surgery is to preserve the joints by extracting the synovial fluid that is inflamed. You know that the synovia is inflamed when it shows a discolored appearance. This also determines if a person has RA or not. With a success rate of 50{32374893c753f4d4f2329d4724f79eb7196254dfc9bafca397d400f00b9d25a9}, surgery can be helpful for undeveloped cases of RA.
Surgery as a rheumatoid arthritis treatment option usually takes place on the ankles, feet, knees, shoulders, and elbows. The surgery requires intact cartilage while physical therapy is necessary after the procedure.
Besides pharmacologic and surgical means of treating RA, there are other rheumatoid arthritis treatment options that you can choose from. For instance, if you suffer from RA symptoms, you can do some exercises and change your diet. When it comes to your diet, you can avoid high fat and high protein as well as dairy and grains. For improved immunity and overall health, doing exercises and living a stress-free lifestyle can also help you. Too much exercising is not recommended, though while you are still on your recovery periods. There are also supplements like fish oil that helps people who are suffering from RA. Just make sure to seek the advice of your rheumatologist.