3 Chronic Joint Pain Treatment Ideas To Explore
For many people, joint pain becomes more noticeable with age or after an injury or arthritis diagnosis. Chronic joint pain is joint pain that lasts for several weeks or longer. Chronic joint pain often varies in severity from day to day, which means some days you may feel stiff and uncomfortable, but be able to treat it easily with pain medication, while on other days, the pain is debilitating. Luckily, there are great treatment options for joint pain, including these three:
Joint Pain Injections
If over-the-counter pain medication is not providing relief from joint pain, your doctor may decide you are a good candidate for joint pain injections. A substance, such as a steroid product, is injected into your joint, where it reduces inflammation at the source. In turn, your pain will be greatly reduced. Joint pain injections can be very effective, but they are only meant to be used sparingly and infrequently.
Cold Therapy
Cold can help ease your symptoms by reducing inflammation and swelling. There are several options for cold therapy, beginning with simple ice packs you can use at home when needed. Just be sure to cover them with a cloth before applying them to your skin so that you don't harm your skin. Other options include cold sprays made specifically for joint pain.
Some people also find cryotherapy chambers helpful for chronic joint pain. This involves standing in a very cold pod for a short period of time at a cryotherapy facility. The intense cold works to reduce inflammation and ease pain quickly.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy can't repair your actual joints if they've been damaged, but it can be very helpful at addressing your pain. Physical therapy for joint pain works by helping to strengthen the muscles and tendons around your painful joints. In some cases, physical therapy may also involve stretching to ease any painful spasms you are experiencing.
Your physical therapist will teach you the exercises in person, and then prescribe you a certain number of exercises to do per week at home. Over time, they may add new exercises to your routine. Physical therapy is a great option since it has no side effects and can help you feel stronger overall.
If you are experiencing chronic joint pain, it's a good idea to find a health care clinic that offers joint pain treatment. They will help you determine which of these treatment options is best for your situation.
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