StemCell Therapy

Your first choicefor relief from arthritis pain might be over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen. These medicines are highly effective for most people. However, theycome with some potential side effects that are worth considering.

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You may want to consider adding topical pain relievers such as creams, ointments, lotions, patchesand rubs to your pain relief arsenal. These over-the-counter productscan ease arthritis aches without the potential side effects of pills.

Topical medicines, especially for hand and knee arthritis, are as effective in certain cases as oral medications, says orthopedic specialist Jason Genin, DO. A topical might be much better and better tolerated.

These pain-relieving medicinescan have the greatest impact onarthritis in yourhands, knees orelbows, Dr. Genin says. They areless effective withsources of pain that lie deep within your body like the hip joint, which is surrounded by a thick layer of muscle and fat.

Topical arthritis pain relievers come in several forms, and are availableover the counter and by prescription. They tend to be safer than pills, but they can still cause side effects particularly skin irritation, Dr. Genin says.

Other symptoms like shortness of breath or low blood pressure indicate a possible allergy to the medicine. This is serious, and if this happens, youll need to stop using the medicineand contact your doctor.

The righttopical treatment will depend on location and severity of your painand your lifestyle. They tend to fall into three categories:

I like to use the topical compounds when a patient hasnt tolerated oral medications, which are drugs that affect your entire body. With a topical compound, we cankeep the side effect localized rather than body-wide, especially if they tried over-the-counter topical treatments and they didnt work, Dr. Genin says.

A pain-relieving cream, gel or patch likely wont be your sole arthritis relief strategy. They work best in combination with other strategies, such as exercise, diet and oral pain relievers. Your doctor can advise you on the rightcombination for your needs.

Hopefully, topical pain relievers are just one part of the arthritis treatment, Dr. Genin says.

Read the rest here:
How You Can Get Arthritis Relief From Creams, Patches and Ointments - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic (blog)

This entry was posted on June 24, 2017 at 4:41 am and is filed under Arthritis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |