What is the Best Knee Treatment for My Arthritis?

Do You Have Osteoarthritis Knee Swelling?

If you have arthritic swelling, how do you know if it’s OA versus RA or even another condition altogether? If you’ve already been diagnosed with OA, and the symptoms feel identical to previous OA flare-ups, then it’s likely the culprit. Swelling with OA is not usually symmetrical. It might only occur in one knee. And when it occurs in both knees, it might be worse on one side than the other.

RA, however, presents symmetrical swelling, and often the inflammation is systemic, affecting several joints at once. The swelling of RA stems from fluid accumulating near your joint when the immune system attacks, whereas the swelling with OA is from friction and wear and tear with overuse. So, before you assume osteoarthritis knee swelling is at play, consult a qualified joint pain specialist near me.

Can You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis in Your Knees?

Much like OA, you can experience knee pain from RA. But quite unlike OA, Rheumatoid Arthritis is not located in your knees. Knee pain with RA is caused by the immune system mounting a response that attacks the soft tissue around your joints, treating it like an invader. So, while you can have symptoms of RA in your knees, the knees themselves aren’t to blame. RA can attack healthy knee cells, whereas the pain of OA comes from inadequate amounts of cartilage and cushioning in the knee.

Have You Received a Rheumatoid Arthritis Knee Diagnosis?

Before attempting to relieve RA symptoms, secure a distinct Rheumatoid Arthritis knee diagnosis. If your pain is only in one knee, rather than both knees or multiple joints, it might not be RA. It is rare to have Rheumatoid Arthritis in a knee and nowhere else. In addition, RA often has additional symptoms like fever, fatigue, and problems with other organs. Often, another symptom like tiredness presents before pain with RA.

Looking for Knee Pain Rheumatoid Arthritis Relief?

If you’ve been properly diagnosed, you might be wondering where to find knee pain Rheumatoid Arthritis relief. Since RA can affect multiple parts of the body, you need a doctor with a broad scope of expertise. Pain management doctors understand pain from all angles, including location, causation, and manifestation. They understand how the body refers pain to other areas and how each patient feels pain differently. Partnering with an interventional pain medicine doctor is your first step to determining how to target RA pain.

Does Ibuprofen Help with Joint Pain?

Some patients try to treat arthritic pain themselves by taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medicine like Ibuprofen. However, these NSAIDs aren’t recommended for all patients or all symptoms. The inflammation of RA stems from the immune system, not nerves or structural parts of the knee. As such, Ibuprofen might temporarily reduce inflammation and pain, but it won’t stop the autoimmune attack.

Additional treatments are often required to calm RA, like corticosteroid injections, arthrocentesis, and immunosuppressive medicines. As for OA, Ibuprofen might have a temporary impact on pain and swelling, but the long-term goal should be reducing the wear and tear and supporting the degenerated areas. Viscosupplementation, lubricant injections, steroid injections, physical therapy, exercise, and weight loss are other great tools to combat OA.

Does Advil Help Joint Pain?

Some people think different drug brand names indicate different outcomes. Advil is simply a brand of Ibuprofen, just like Motrin. These are all in the same category of analgesic anti-inflammatories, and the brand name has little to do with efficacy. You’ll want to check the expiration date and additional or inactive ingredients of all over-the-counter medicines you buy. You should also take note of the concentration per dose. NSAIDs have a recommended number of milligrams per day, beyond which you risk damage to your stomach and intestines. But as for the main ingredient, Ibuprofen and Advil are no different when it comes to joint pain.

Which OTC Meds for Joint Pain Actually Work?

In addition to NSAIDs, some people use analgesics like Tylenol for pain that don’t have anti-inflammatory properties. These are advised over NSAIDs for patients with recent abdominal surgery, bleeding in the stomach, allergy to NSAIDs, and GI disorders. Tylenol will help your brain regulate the pain, but it won’t reduce inflammation or swelling. So, if you’re wondering which OTC meds for joint pain work best, it depends on your type of arthritis and your individual medical history. In many cases, other solutions like steroid injections, weight loss, and exercise alleviate joint pain better than OTC meds.

Arthritis Relief Center Smithtown NY vs. PTS

For best results, skip the self-diagnosing and OTC pain meds and seek knee treatment from a board certified knee pain doctor. However, don’t choose an arthritis center as your first destination. Many conditions present much like arthritis, and those doctors are only trained in treating arthritis. In addition, the wear and tear of arthritis can lead to additional complications like fractures, nerve pain, and bony outgrowths.

So, choose a pain management expert like Pain Treatment Specialists (PTS) who can attack your arthritis from all angles, over a clinic like Arthritis Relief Center in Smithtown, NY. Our doctors accept most insurance plans and our procedures are typically fully covered, unlike some treatments at arthritis centers.

Visit the Innovative Arthritic Joint Pain Doctor Near Me

For the best care for Osteoarthritis of the knee or Rheumatoid Arthritis knee pain, head to Pain Treatment Specialists. Our award-winning practice is led by Harvard-trained doctors with innovative solutions for knee pain. From hyaluronic acid injections and corticosteroid injections, to genicular nerve blocks and Viscosupplementation, we offer a full range of knee treatment options for arthritic joint pain.

Our treatments produce relief in 5-10 minutes, much faster than the 20 minutes or 60 minutes it takes for OTC meds to kick in. We also offer tips for improving your daily life with arthritis. Whether it’s losing weight or working with a physical therapist, we’ll customize a care plan just for you. Trust Pain Treatment Specialists for comprehensive arthritic knee treatment.