talked with them about risks, or they couldn’t recall if they had. And 26% of those taking oral steroids hadn’t talked with a provider about the special risks these drugs bring,” says Dr. Beth Wallace. She is a rheumatologist and researcher at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare system, the VA Center for Clinical Management Research and Michigan Medicine.
“This suggests a pressing need for providers to talk with their patients about how to manage their joint pain, and what interactions and long-term risks might arise if they use medications to do so,” Wallace adds.
Reducing the risk of complications
Guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology for osteoarthritis and the more rare rheumatoid arthritis seek to reduce the risk that can happen with long-term use or for those taking multiple medications that can affect patients’ stomach, liver, blood pressure, blood sugar, mood or sleep.
The guidelines for osteoarthritis, which can be caused by wear and tear, emphasize weight loss, exercise, self-management programs with arthritis educators, tai chi, yoga, braces, splints and kinesiotaping, acupuncture or acupressure, cognitive behavioral therapy and applying heat, cold or topical pain relievers on aching joints.
For medication, the guidelines focus on short-term use of over-the-counter medications in low doses, along with steroid joint injections in appropriate patients. They recommend against most supplements, opioids and other prescription drugs.
About 64% of survey respondents who have joint pain do use exercise and 24% have had physical therapy. Far fewer used non-drug options such as braces.
Certain groups of older adults appear to be more likely to experience worse joint pain, says poll director Dr. Preeti Malani, a Michigan Medicine physician with training in infectious diseases and geriatrics.
“Those who say their overall health is fair or poor were twice as likely to say they have moderate or severe joint pain as those in better health. The difference was nearly as great between those who say their mental health is fair or poor than those who reported better mental health,” she said in a Michigan Medicine news release.
“And older adults with fair or poor physical or mental health were much more likely to agree with the statement that there’s nothing that someone with joint pain can do to ease their symptoms, which we now know to be untrue,” Malani says. “Health providers need to raise the topic of joint pain with their older patients, and help them make a plan for care that might work for them.”
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Talking to your doctor about joint pain
One way you can speed up the process of finding relief from joint pain is to give your doctor a better understanding of how severe your pain is. Have a doctor’s appointment coming up? Be prepared by keeping a journal of your symptoms for the week leading up to the appointment. Not sure where to start? This checklist may help:
- What time of day are your joint symptoms at their worst?
- What home remedies help?
- Which activities seem to make the pain better?
- Which activities seem to make the pain worse?
You should also document the intensity of your symptoms. On a scale of 1-10, use a number to describe the severity of each activity you perform. For example, 1 meaning little to no joint pain, 10 meaning the symptoms are unbearable.
Once you get to your appointment, remember to be as detailed as possible when sharing your journal and how your symptoms affect your daily life. For example, “My symptoms keep me from walking and gardening.”
Lastly, to help your doctor prioritize your needs, list your top three most bothersome concerns.
Dealing with joint pain may be tough, but with the proper care, it doesn’t have to completely disrupt your life.