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One in four adults develops arthritis, a chronic disease that causes progressive joint damage and pain. When you seek help from Michael Rizkalla, MD, Mahmud Ibrahim, MD, and the experienced team at Revive Spine and Pain Center, you receive individualized interventional and restorative therapies that ease your pain and support optimal mobility. Don’t wait to seek help for arthritis pain. Call the office in Marlton, Hamilton Township, East Brunswick and Northfield, New Jersey, or request an appointment online today to learn about effective arthritis treatment options.
Arthritis Q & A
How do I develop arthritis?
Arthritis is a broad term referring to joint inflammation. The way that inflammation develops depends on whether you have osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis:
Osteoarthritis
You develop osteoarthritis as daily wear-and-tear breaks down articular cartilage. This cartilage covers the ends of bones in the joint, reducing friction and promoting smooth movement. As more cartilage wears away, bone grates against bone, leading to joint damage, bone spurs, and inflammation.
Osteoarthritis usually begins in the large, weight-bearing joints like your knees and hips. But it can affect any joint and often occurs in your spine.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that begins when your immune system mistakenly attacks the synovial tissues lining the joint. The tissues become inflamed, and without treatment, ongoing inflammation damages the bones.
This type of arthritis typically begins in the small joints of your fingers, hands, and feet. It also affects the same joint on both sides of your body.
What arthritis symptoms will I experience?
Arthritis causes joint pain, stiffness, and limited movement. As the joint damage progresses, your symptoms worsen, and it gets harder to move and stay active.
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may also have joint swelling and tenderness. Additionally, the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis can spread throughout the body, potentially affecting your eyes, skin, lungs, kidneys, blood vessels, and other areas.
How is arthritis treated?
The skilled Revive Spine and Pain Center team develops a treatment plan based on your diagnosis (the type of arthritis) and the severity of your symptoms. The first line of treatment for osteoarthritis begins with anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy.
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, your provider prescribes disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). These advanced medications put the disease into remission and prevent joint damage.
When conservative therapies can’t relieve your symptoms, your Revive Spine and Pain Center provider specializes in cutting-edge treatments that effectively ease your pain. A few examples include:
- Steroid injections
- Hyaluronic acid injections
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
- Bone marrow aspirate cellular injections
- Nerve blocks
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Facet joint injections
- Epidural steroid injections
- Spinal cord stimulation
These treatments ease arthritis pain and improve stiffness in several different ways, ranging from reducing inflammation and promoting tissue repair to stopping pain signals from traveling through nerves.
Call Revive Spine and Pain Center today or request an appointment online to get relief from arthritis pain.