Arthritis: Inflammation and Arthritis

How Are Inflammatory Joint Diseases Treated?

There are a number of treatment options for inflammatory joint diseases including medications, rest and exercise, and surgery to correct joint damage. The type of treatment prescribed will depend on several factors including the type of disease, the person's age, type of medications he or she is taking, overall health, medical history and severity of symptoms.

The goals of treatment are to:

• Avoid or modify activities that aggravate pain
• Relieve pain through pain-relieving medications and anti-inflammatory medications
• Maintain joint movement and muscle strength through physical therapy and exercise
• Decrease stress on the joints by using braces, splints or canes as needed

What Medications Are Used to Treat Inflammatory Diseases?

There are many medications available to decrease joint pain, swelling and inflammation and hopefully prevent or minimize the progression of the inflammatory disease. The medications include:

• Anti-inflammatory pain reliever drugs (NSAIDs - such as aspirin, ibuprofen or Celebrex).
• Corticosteroids (such as prednisone).
• Other medications* include chemotherapy drugs, disease modifying treatments, biologic therapy, or narcotic pain relievers.

*Some of these medications are traditionally used to treat other conditions such as cancer and inflammatory bowel disease or to prevent organ rejection after transplants. However, when "chemotherapy" types of medications are used to treat inflammatory diseases, the doses are significantly lower and the risks of side effects tend to be considerably less than when prescribed in higher doses for cancer.

When you are prescribed any medication, it is important to meet with your doctor regularly so he or she can check its effectiveness and detect the development of any side effects.

Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases

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