Relief for Joint Pain

Rest

Resting a painful, irritated joint and avoiding activities that further aggravate and/or worsen joint pain can be an effective treatment strategy. A brief period of rest and/or disuse can allow a painful joint to reduce both in inflammation and swelling, which helps to reduce joint pain and increase joint range of motion. To help manage and/or reduce your joint pain, take care to avoid any unnecessary joint movements; allow your painful joint to rest and engage in only those activities that are necessary for basic functioning.

Many cases of joint pain are caused by constriction and tightness of the muscles and soft tissues surrounding a painful joint. Applying heat to these painful areas helps to increase circulation to the affected tissues, which helps to reduce joint stiffness and inflammation, which ultimately leads to reductions in joint pain. To help treat your joint pain, you can apply heat to the affected joint using an electric heating pad and/or a microwaveable heating disk, both of which can be pressed against the painful area for several minutes at a time. Repeat several times per day as symptoms warrant.

The use of pain medications to manage and/or treat joint pain is a common treatment modality used in a wide variety of joint pain cases. There exists a wide variety of pain medications designed to treat joint pain. These medications range from simple over-the-counter non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to more powerful opiate/narcotic-based prescription medications. Traditional pain medication treatment for joint pain normally begins with the use of the less-powerful, over-the-counter pain medications; if symptoms persist and/or fail to respond adequately, the more powerful prescription-based medications are normally prescribed and used.

Joint injections are often times used to treat chronic and/or severe cases of joint pain that fail to respond adequately to less-invasive forms of treatment such as activity modification and physical therapy. Most joint injections involve the use of a corticosteroid, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, injected directly into a painful joint. If your joint pain is severe and/or chronic in nature, and if you have tried other, less-invasive forms of joint pain treatment, your doctor may recommend a joint injection to treat your joint pain.