Arthritis and Joint Pain

Arthritis and joint pain often occur together. At OmniSpine Pain Management in Frisco and Mesquite, Texas, board-certified interventional spine and pain management and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physician Andrew Morchower, MD, MPH, takes a personalized approach to treatment. He treats arthritis and joint pain using the most advanced treatments. Call the OmniSpine Pain Management office nearest you today or schedule your arthritis and joint pain consultation online.

What is arthritis and joint pain?

Arthritis is actually a group of around 100 inflammatory and degenerative diseases that cause joint pain. But you can have joint pain without arthritis. Joints form the connection between two or more bones. Most of the joints in your body support your mobility, helping you walk, run, lift, and write.

Arthritis

Arthritis is a medical term that means joint inflammation, causing pain and stiffness in the joints. There are many forms of arthritis, and they can affect any joint in the body.

Joint pain

Joint pain refers to any discomfort you feel in a joint. You might suffer joint pain caused by arthritis or a joint injury.

What are the most common forms of arthritis?

There are many types of arthritis but the more common are:

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative arthritis that causes joint inflammation and pain due to the gradual wearing away of the cartilage that separates the bones in a joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

RA is an autoimmune disease that causes joint pain and inflammation because the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the lining of the joint.

Spondylitic arthritis

Spondylitic arthritis affects the spine, causing back pain.

Post-traumatic arthritis

Post-traumatic arthritis develops in a joint following an injury to that joint.

What are some causes of joint pain?

Arthritis is among the most common causes of chronic joint pain, but it’s not the only cause. You can also develop joint pain from a joint injury like:

• Tendon tear
• Sprain or strain
• Tendinitis (inflammation of the tendon)
• Bursitis (inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs in a joint)

These joint pain conditions can occur following an acute injury or develop gradually from repetitive use of the joint.

What treatments improve arthritis and joint pain?

Dr. Morchower takes a personalized approach to arthritis and joint pain. After completing a thorough evaluation and determining the cause of your pain, he develops your customized plan, which can include:

• Activity changes
• Icing
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Bracing or splinting
• Physical therapy
• Steroid joint injections (to reduce inflammation)
• Viscosupplementation joint injections (for knee osteoarthritis)
• Nerve blocks
• Medication management

Dr. Morchower strives to provide the most effective pain management, using the least invasive methods.

Call OmniSpine Pain Management today or schedule an appointment online to get help with your arthritis and joint pain.