4 Reasons Arthritis and Joint Pain Are Difficult to Relieve
Arthritis pain is one of the most difficult types of pain to relieve. Arthritis is an umbrella term that covers somewhere between 100 and 200 medical conditions. Moreover, arthritis and joint diseases affect more than 53 million adults across the United States. The common thread among all these conditions, and the reason they are all referred to as forms of arthritis, is that they cause inflammation inside joints.
Different forms of arthritis are usually differentiated by the cause of the inflammation:
- Osteoarthritis is caused by wear and tear in the joint and primarily affects seniors. Osteoarthritis can be accelerated by prior joint injuries and damage or deterioration of cartilage inside the joint. The grinding of the worn joints causes inflammation inside the joints which is what causes osteoarthritis pain.
- Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system attacks its own joints. The attacks cause the lining of the joint to inflame, leading to rheumatoid arthritis pain.
- Septic arthritis and some of the rarer forms of arthritis arise from an infection within the joint. As with other forms of arthritis, the infection causes inflammation inside the joint and joint lining. This results in joint pain.
Although arthritis can have many different causes, pain is a common factor. Here are four reasons arthritis pain can be difficult to relieve and why all natural pain relief creams can help:
Arthritis is Inside Joints
Joint pain is different from muscle pain. Muscle pain can be treated with heat, cold, and massage because muscles are accessible. Joints, on the other hand, are not exposed. This means it can be difficult to treat the pain with direct application of heat, cold, and massage.
However, topical pain relief creams can be helpful when they relieve local inflammation. As mentioned previously, inflammation within the joint causes pain. It follows that arthritis pain relief creams that provide inflammation relief can ease arthritis pain.
Arthritis Can Reduce Mobility
One factor that can increase the risk of osteoarthritis is obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. The stress that extra weight puts on joints can damage the cartilage inside the joints, which leads to bone-on-bone grinding and joint inflammation.
The conundrum is that the arthritis pain prevents the exercise that would be needed to lose weight and reduce the stress on the joints. Temporary pain relief achieved through arthritis pain relief cream can allow arthritis sufferers to exercise enough to loosen joints and engage in a weight loss program.
Arthritis is Degenerative and Chronic
Unfortunately, damage to joints affected by arthritis does not heal and will often worsen over time. This means that people with severe arthritis will often experience chronic pain.
On the other hand, inflammation can be reduced, thereby soothing arthritis pain temporarily. Arthritis pain relief creams are a natural form of pain relieving creams that can relieve pain caused by inflammation.
Inflammation is a Natural Reaction
Although inflammation can cause many problems within the body, it is a natural reaction within the healing process. The difficulties arise when inflammation is so severe that it creates pain and impedes the body's repair processes. For example, swelling in an injured muscle can prevent blood from delivering the building blocks to repair the muscle. This is the reason that cold treatment to reduce swelling often helps in healing injured muscles.
Inflammation inside damaged joints can have the same detrimental effect. In addition to causing pain, inflammation can reduce mobility and cause swelling of the tissue around the joint. Thus, arthritis pain relief creams can not only ease pain but can also ease inflammation in the tissue surrounding the joint that may be affected by inflammation.
This can be an important benefit for arthritis patients since one possible treatment for arthritis is to strengthen the surrounding muscles to provide better support for the arthritic joint. Arthritis pain relief creams can help soothe the arthritis pain and inflammation so that these surrounding tissues can be built up.
Arthritis pain can be difficult to relieve. However, arthritis pain relief is not impossible for many patients. Arthritis pain relief creams that can soothe pain and ease inflammation to allow arthritis patients to lose weight and build up muscles to support the joints can help arthritis sufferers over the long term.
