Rheumatism is a border term that covers a wide range of health conditions, from local inflammation to joint and muscle conditions. Today, the term rheumatism is used to describe rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatic disorders mainly affect our joints, muscles, and bones. These diseases may cause severe pain, disability and may even cause death.
Rheumatism Symptoms
Inflammation on the tendon is one of the common symptoms of rheumatic disorders. Another symptom is gout, which is the inflammation in the joint caused by the deposition of uric acid crystals in the joint tissue. People suffering from rheumatic disorders often experience severe neck pain that makes the turning of the head very difficult. Carpal tunnel syndrome is also seen in people affected with rheumatic disorders. They may also suffer from a frozen shoulder, which causes difficulty in raising the arm.
Rheumatism Treatment
Management Of Pain
The primary aim of every form of rheumatism is the management and relief of pain. Rheumatic pain treatment is necessary whether it is inflammatory or non-inflammatory. The pain caused by rheumatic diseases can be managed by the use of traditional pain relievers or by the use of other forms of pain relievers that also reduce inflammation.
Traditional pain relievers include opioids like morphine and codeine or opioid analgesics, which may ease your pain but they do not have any effect on the inflammations. The best and most effective rheumatism pain treatment is the use of NSAIDs like ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, etc.
Reducing The Inflammation
Another major goal of rheumatism treatment is reducing the inflammation on the joints or other tissues, which can be achieved by the use of corticosteroids. They help to reduce the inflammation on the joints and also prevent the tissue damage at the joints. However, long term use of corticosteroids has side effects.
Recently, the use of biological response modifiers or BRMs for reducing inflammation has been increased. BRMs are mainly used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. They target the inflammatory markers that cause joint damage.
Prevention Of Joint Damage
Rheumatic disorders can lead to severe disabilities because of the inflammation in the joints. The treatment of rheumatic disorders aims at preventing the progression of joint damage. This can be achieved through physical therapies and also with exercises that maintain the optimum mobility of joints.
Disease modifying anti rheumatoid arthritis drugs or DMARDs is also used to prevent joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis patients. DMARDs can also prevent progressive joint damage and the disability associated with the disorder.
