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Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Options You Get from a Rheumatologist
If you suffer from conditions affecting your bones, muscles, and joints, it is important that you seek the help of a rheumatologist. Aside from these parts of your body that suffer from certain conditions, arthritis is another specialty of these medical professionals. 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.
While you can choose from various rheumatoid arthritis treatment choices, they will have more or less the same goals. Basically, these treatments are offered to improve the general health of the patient as well as modify the disease process, reduce systemic inflammation, reduce symptom duration and severity, and send the disease into remission.
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.
One of the most common approaches to treating RA will be through its symptoms. Prescribing you with over the counter medications and supplements is something that doctors commonly do to deal with mild to moderate symptoms of RA like stiffness and joint paint. These symptoms are often dealt with through the intake of pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs.
For low-grade symptoms of RA, using ibuprofen, naproxen, and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is effective. 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.
There may be a need to have surgery done if the affected part of the joint called synovial membrane is inflamed. By extracting the inflamed synovial fluid through surgery, the joints can be preserved. 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{90eae5c21f0a41583923a14bc0d1e6b688a935d239d7aed91446e99aaeb31c4f}, 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. Cartilage must still be intact for surgery to begin while afterward, physical therapy is necessary.
There are additional rheumatoid arthritis treatment options that you can try if you suffer from RA besides medications and surgery as advised by your doctor. 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. During your recovery periods, just make sure to not do too much exercise. There are also supplements like fish oil that helps people who are suffering from RA. Before taking them, always get the recommendations of your rheumatologist first.