Know Your Bones

Topical Pain Relievers - What Do They Do?

Topical pain relievers are applied to the skin over painful joints. Compare this to systemic, or system-wide, treatment you get from taking pills by mouth. Pills must be digested, absorbed by your intestine, processed by your liver, and then circulated via the bloodstream throughout your whole system. Topicals act right at the scene of the crime.

Topical pain relievers are a valuable addition to the cache of treatments on hand to alleviate your osteoarthritis (OA) pain. Many varieties of creams, rubs, and salves are available. They offer relief through one or more of the following ingredients.

• Counter-irritants: Counter-irritants distract your brain from your OA pain. Menthol, wintergreen, camphor and eucalyptus oil stimulate nerve endings in the same body area as your arthritic joint. A warm, tingly feeling diverts your brain's attention away from the pain in the joint itself. This "interference" happens where you apply the salve (say, at your knee). One of the additional benefits is that you don't become sleepy or confused like you could with some pain pills.
• Capsaicin (cap-Say-sin): Capsaicin is derived from cayenne peppers. This natural ingredient soaks into the nerves around your painful joint and depletes their supply of Substance P, the neurotransmitter that sends the pain message to the brain. Interestly, only the nerves that transmit pain are affected; normal sensation pathways are not involved. You aren't numb like you would be with novocaine.
• Anti-Inflammatories: Anti-inflammatories can either resemble the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) you take in pill form, or the natural anti-inflammatories like omega-3 "good fats." These block inflammation at the site where it smolders and prevent the ensuing pain.

Don't expect these treatments to penetrate all of the tissue layers to reach inside the joint itself. OA pain can also arise from strain on the soft tissues that are trying to stabilize a worn, wobbly joint: muscles, tendons, liagments. Topical pain relievers work here.

Five Health Tips In Fighting Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative process that will continue at its own pace until its cause and cure is discovered. Until that time comes, maintaining good health can be strong fighter in staying relatively pain-free and active. Here are six health tips worth following:

1. Remember that all of your joint components are made of living tissue. These tissues rely on healthy blood flow and the right nutrients to repair themselves and stay strong and resilent. Eating poorly robs your body of the tools it needs to maintain itself, and smoking constricts your blood vessels, limiting the circulation to these tissues.
2. Daily activities may strain shrunken, stiff and irritated tissues. It may be easy to "over do" it unless you keep your joints limber and resilient with regular exercise.
3. Although osteoarthritis is often called "wear and tear" arthritis, don't be afraid that physical activity will wear you out. On the contrary, joints are designed for motion, and motion helps circulation nourish your joints.
4. Good health and a state of "wellness" means you respect the way all of your body's organs and systems are interrelated. Do everything you can to sustain your vigor and balance in order to ward off anything that threatens it with desease.
5. Choose your pharmacist as carefully as you would choose a physician. Thanks to his/her training and expertise, your pharmacist is a valuable consultant who can advise you about how to get the best results from your medications, potential drug interactions and side affects, possible allergy complications, drug costs, insurance coverage and lower-cost options.

You've got better things to do than let OA rule your day. Maintaining good health habits is certainly part of the right treatment strategy.

Some Tips On Applying Heat or Ice To Painful Joints

When you have a painful joint caused by osteoarthritis, applying heat treatments or ice treatments can help. But which should you choose? Why? How often and how long? Here are some answers.

The only time you must choose ice is during the first 48 hours after an injury or surgery. Cooling the area causes the nearby blood vessels to constrict. There's less swelling and, therefore, less pain. Conversly, heat opens up the blood vessels, improving flow. This increased circultion brings oxygen and healing elements to the scene while flushing away wastes. Kind of "in with the good and out with the bad."

Try heat to warm up your joints before activity, or while resting - ice afterward. Apply a warm or cold compress for 15 minutes. If it feels better, you've made the right choice. If not, switch. It's OK to experiment here.

Over a lifetime, your osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms will wax and wane. Modify your activities, apply heat or ice as needed, and keep your body strong and flexible to minimize your need for drugs. Over-doing household chores, a strenuous hike, or a slip or fall can irritate your joints and could cause a flare-up.

Some things to remember.

• OA is a complex disease with a variety of symptoms including pain, stiffness, swelling, and limited activity.
• OA also progresses at different rates in different patients (even in different joints in the same patient).
• Your personal treatment plan may have you using different drugs for different symptoms as your symptoms change over time.

Applying heat or ice treatments can play a helpful role in relieving pain that you may suffer.

[The above article was taken from excerpts  from Know Your Bones: Making Sense of Arthritis Medicine, a guidebook written for those who suffer from osteoarthritis.]