Chiropractic Elk Grove

Morphine is not prescribed for Rheumatoid arthritis.  If you/your friend has RA and have progressed to a point where you/they are experiening joint pain it really does hurt.  The cartilage in between bones are deteriorating.  RA is not a joint ony disease.  Organs may be effected as well.  Some RA patients suffer from ulcers and heart complications.  None of the drugs given for RA cure RA.  If they have you on medication they are going to check you often.  They are checking to see if the side effects of the drugs are too dangerous to continue to give you the drugs.  RA patients’, mild or severe cases, life expectancy are shorter than someone without RA. 

If you have rheumatoid arthritis you might have been given a combination of these types of medications:  disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, anti-inflammatory medications, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, antimalarial medications, tumor necrosis factor inhibitor, human interleukin-1 receptor antgonist, biologics, immunosuppressant and/or a corticosteroid.  Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs and anti-inflammatory are two standard drugs given to RA patients.  Methotrexate is the most commonly distributed disease modifying antirheumatic drug.  The most common anti-inflammatory drug given to patients with RA are aspirin or NSAIDS, like ibuprofen.  NSAIDS lead to stomach problems so COX-2 inhibitors might be given to a patient with patients already known to have stomach issues.  The problem with COX-2 inhibitors is that they reportedly give patients heart attacks.  Antimalarial drugs have high toxic side effects so they give them out and watch your body’s reaction closely by asking for frequent blood tests.  Tumor necrosis factor medications are the newest class of medications available.  They block an inflammatory protein.  More patients with time have to be on these drugs for longer time in order to learn of the results and side effects.  Examples of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors are commonly named: Enbrel, Remicade and Humira.  Human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist drug is a synthetic protein that blocks the inflammatory protein interleukin-1.  This is given to patients over 18, along with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs or tumor necrosis factor drugs, and that have not responded to one or more disease modifying antirheumatic drugs.   Biologics are available to patients with RA that do not respond to the tumor necrosis factor drugs.  The two type of biologic drugs available are administered via injection through a vein.  The last two to speak of are immunosuppressants and corticosteroids.  Immunosuppressants have toxic side effects so are reserved for severe cases of RA.  They will give these harsh drugs to people that haven’t responded to other medications.  Corticosteroids are used to decrease inflammation.  They have dangerous side effects as well. 

Sometimes a total joint replacement is required.  The most successful surgeries are when knees or hips are replaced because how much larger these joints are compared to finger joints, for example, and because of the more simple directions of motion these joints do. 

Physical therapy is definitely needed after surgery but should be attempted before surgery for patients with RA in order to delay loss of joint function through a set of range of motion exercises.  Chiropractors do the same thing.  We are putting motion into the joints. 

Take Care,

Dr. Munoz