Seeking arthritis treatment? Aching, swelling, painful joints? Tired of treatment strategies that continue to fail? Arthritis treatment needs to be individualized to be successful. Advanced Pain Medical Group in the LA area can help.
What is Arthritis?
Arthritis is the pain or swelling of a joint due to the breakdown of the cartilage (protective tissue) that helps to buffer the impact of gravity and weight on the joint. Imagine a table with tennis balls on each leg to prevent scratching on the floor. Eventually, if the table (joint) is repetitively moved, the cartilage (tennis ball) breaks down, and the floor is scratched. The same process affects our joints.
Ways To Treat Arthritis Pain?
Once cartilage wears down, the bone begins to scratch on the bone, wearing it down creating pain and inflammation. In the early stages, exercise, physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the joint, and anti-inflammatory medications, both oral and topical, are often effective treatments. However, as our bodies are always under the impact of gravity and compression over time, these treatments may not be as helpful.
5 Potential Arthritis Treatments
- Injections
- Blocks
- Ablations
- Implants
- Stem Cell Replacement & Platelet Rich Plasma
1) Injections Reduce Inflammation
The effectiveness of medications is limited by their reach in the body. Medications taken by mouth cannot enter the joint space where they are needed the most. This limitation can be overcome by directly injecting anti-inflammatory medication into the joint space.
How Do Injections Work?
With arthritis, the inflammation can remain too long, and the area becomes progressively harder to heal. This inflammation results in swelling as it brings additional blood flow to heal the area, which can result in pressure on nerves causing pain. Steroids reduce this inflammation and allow the nerves more space.
2) Blocks Prevent Signals to Nerves
For many patients with progressing arthritis, reducing the inflammation is not enough to reduce the pain. Blocks are the numbing of the nerves that run to the affected joint. Generally, a numbing agent is directly injected into the nerve to stop it from sending pain signals.
3) Ablations Burn Nerves Preventing Signals
Patients who are no longer effectively controlling pain through injections and blocks may benefit from an ablation.
What is ablation? An ablation is a burning of the nerve leading to the joint that turns off the pain signal to the brain.
4) Implants Provide Space to Reduce Inflammation
In cases where arthritis is affecting the spine, small implants can be placed to increase the nerve space and reduce inflammation in the area. This is called decompression and has evolved into a minimally invasive procedure.
5) Stem Cell Replacement and Platelet Rich Plasma Repair Cartilage
Many interventions are only available to address the pain that arthritis causes but are unable to repair the underlying damage or prevent the progression. Stem cell replacement and platelet-rich plasma can assist patients in regenerating their own protective cartilage.
- Things to Think About When Considering Any Intervention
- What are the recovery requirements for each procedure?
- What are the benefits and costs associated with each treatment?
- What individualized approach would be best for my situation?
Stop The Pain — Call Today
Make an appointment with one of our pain management specialists today to reach your pain management goals with Advanced Pain Medical Group. With 8 convenient locations in Los Angeles, Kern, and Ventura County, pain relief is closer than you think.