Understanding What Your Health Clinic Offers

Posted on: 22 June 2022

If you suffer from arthritis, you can visit a health care center to explore different treatment options that may end or at least ease some of the pain and stiffness that are often associated with the condition. You can be seen by a doctor who knows how to treat different types of arthritis that may have different causes, and this medical professional can design a treatment plan that is intended to address your specific arthritic condition the best. Here are a few treatment options that will likely be available at the health care center that you visit.

Medication

A prescribed medicine from a doctor may offer you an effective arthritis treatment that will be easy for you to follow without requiring you to make any major life changes. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be prescribed at a health care clinic to try to reduce arthritic pain and inflammation, but you may also find relief by taking certain over-the-counter pain medicines that are classified as NSAIDs. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are often prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis but may also be recommended if you have a different type of arthritis and the doctor believes that you'll be helped by any of these medications. Other arthritis medications to consider include counterirritants and corticosteroids. 

Medical Devices

A doctor may also recommend certain medical devices to help stabilize your arthritic bones and joints better so that they don't cause you a lot of pain when you're trying to perform everyday actions. Braces or splints that fit over the back or around an arthritic knee or wrist are often recommended by doctors for pain relief and better movement. Kitchen utensils, pens, and pencils that have been modified to reduce strain on joints have also been developed to make living with arthritis easier.  

Physical Therapy

A physical therapist can help you perform special exercises and recommend other exercises that you can do on your own to try to relieve pain and stiffness from arthritis. A doctor at a health care center may refer you to one of these professionals if your muscular strength and range of motion have been greatly compromised because of your arthritis. If you attend all your recommended sessions with the therapist and perform the right exercises regularly, you'll likely notice an improvement when you're doing things like walking, climbing stairs, or even sitting. 

Surgery

Surgery is rarely recommended as an initial treatment and is usually only done when severe cases of arthritis can't be relieved with other treatment methods. If your arthritis is caused by joint damage, a joint repair or joint replacement procedure may be recommended. Joint fusion, which involves joining bones to form a single unit, may also help relieve arthritic pain. Osteotomy is another arthritis surgery that can help reduce arthritic pain in the hips and knees by correcting misalignments in these joints.

Arthritis is often a treatable condition, and the right treatment for you may give you long-term results. Talk to a doctor at a local health care center to learn more about the available arthritis treatments.