Sometimes it's nice to not focus much on your pain, but you should when it comes to arthritis. Letting arthritis go untreated can cause more drastic problems for you down the road. However, there are both non-surgical and surgical treatments available to alleviate your joint pain.
Out of sight, out of mind right? WRONG!
Although it may be easy to turn a blind eye to the recurring joint pain, ignoring it won’t benefit you in the long run.
Letting arthritis go untreated may affect your ability to perform everyday activities. Depending on the specific type of arthritis, joint deformity and permanent damage to the joints may occur.
The discomfort may be tolerable in the beginning, but will add to the degradation of the structures in and around your joints which will ultimately lead to more and more pain and the loss of mobility function.
For instance, osteoarthritis may cause bony prominences to form at the edge of the joint called osteophytes, which can sometimes restrict movement or rub against other tissues near the joint.
As there are different types of arthritis, there are various methods of treatment available.
Anti-inflammatory and pain medication may help alleviate your arthritis symptoms
With the help of licensed therapists, physiotherapy and rehabilitation can help improve strength, range of motion, and overall mobility during your daily activities
Cortisone shots may help relieve pain and inflammation in your joints, while a treatment called Viscosupplementation helps lubricate our joints into moving more smoothly
To preserve joint function and movement, you can get the joint surgically replaced with an artificial one.
Arthritis treatment recommendations are completely dependent on the specific type of arthritis you may have. Thanks to modern science, we are equipped with better knowledge and tools to help you treat your arthritis.
