Over 54 million adults suffer through arthritis pain with the risk of developing a diagnosis increasing as adults age. Specifically, Rheumatoid arthritis affects approximately 0.24-1% of the population and is twice as common in women compared with men.

Rheumatoid arthritis, commonly known as RA, occurs when your body's immune system targets your joint linings. While osteoarthritis generally occurs in a single joint, RA is different. This type of autoimmune disease affects multiple joints on both sides of the body. For example, those who are affected often have pain in both hands, both wrists, or both knees.

Over long periods of time, the painful inflammation and swelling in the joints due to RA can cause bone erosion and joint deformity. It can also affect the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, blood, or nerves. This wide array of symptom areas can make Rheumatoid Arthritis difficult to treat, however, recent advancements in arthritis medications have been found to help.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments 

Several types of medications are available to ease RA symptoms. While they may not completely eliminate symptoms, these treatments can often ease them enough to go about everyday life. Oftentimes, talking with a doctor will help determine the best option. However, to start, here are some general treatment options that seem to reduce pain and inflammation in RA sufferers.

EXERCISE: Consistent exercise relieves joint pain and stiffness. One study found positive effects of strengthening and aerobic exercises on pain severity in those with knee Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Good low-impact options include walking, swimming, biking, tai chi, and yoga. In addition, resistance training exercises will help build muscles around the affected joins to support them. 

WEIGHT LOSS: For those who are overweight, slimming down can make a big difference by lowering the stress on joints (especially knees and hips). As the joints begin to function better with less stress, pain is also relieved. 

WALKING AIDS: Devices such as canes, knee braces, splints, and more may help reduce the stress put on the body by arthritis and improve quality of life with each use. 

Medications for Arthritis Relief

While the alternative treatments above are simple to implement and may help in some aspects, they may not completely eradicate pain. Over-the-counter pain relief drugs are usually easy to purchase without much cost and don’t need a prescription (however, it is important to still speak with a doctor before taking any new medications). 

These include acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, and NSAIDs, such as Advil or Motrin. Along with medications, there are supplements and creams that you can buy at the drugstore to relieve arthritis pain.

Many people with arthritis pain use supplements such as Glucosamine and Chondroitin, commonly sold together with MSM. For those with moderate to severe pain, the combination may ease aches, although medical studies have not shown clear proof that they help significantly. Most patients take Glucosamine/Chondroitin for at least 3 months before experiencing its complete effects.

In extremely severe cases, strong pain drugs such as codeine, hydrocodone, or oxycodone can help with arthritis relief. However, due to their side effects, doctors limit prescriptions to those who can’t take NSAIDs or wait for joint replacement.

Prescription Arthritis Medications

There are several prescription medications to treat arthritis and not just the symptoms like the treatments above. These medications appear to be an effective second-line therapy after initial treatments fail. 

A recent study found Upadacitinib provided a significantly greater reduction in patients’ symptoms and disease activity than those treated with a DMARD. 

Traditional Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) act upon the immune system in different ways to reduce joint inflammation. Upadacitinib, on the other hand, works by blocking the action of enzymes called Janus kinases, known as JAK, which are involved in inflammation. Blocking their effect brings inflammation in the joints under control.

Marketed under the brand name Rinvoq, this prescription arthritis medication also helped twice as many patients enter remission from their rheumatoid arthritis, according to this review.

Rinvoq received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in August 2019 for treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.

How JAK Inhibitors Function

Rinvoq belongs to a class of drugs called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, which treat Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms by manipulating the immune system. JAK enzymes play a critical role in transmitting messages from the outside to the inside of the cells. In patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, these enzymes transmit signals that lead to the inappropriate triggering of the immune system to attack the joints.

During the study, about 30% of patients treated with Rinvoq went into remission, compared with about 13% of the Orencia patients.

The results are strong enough to "help push JAK inhibitors to the forefront of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis," according to an editorial by two University of Oslo rheumatologists, which accompanied the clinical trial results.

However, this new drug isn't cheap, costing around $60,000 a year.

Treatments for Osteoarthritis vs. Rheumatoid Arthritis

While the drug-free options and pain medications may help treat both RA and OA, the Upadacitinib drugs are designed to treat RA through the immune system. For those suffering from Osteoarthritis, steroids may lower the inflammation in the joints. As well, a substance called Hyaluronan may help lubricate and cushion the joint directly.

Hyaluronan, which is part of your normal joint fluid, may help relieve pain in those with mild to moderate knee arthritis when injected into the joint. Examples of hyaluronic acid injections include Euflexxa, Hyalgan, Orthovisc, Supartz, and Synvisc.

However, if pain reaches a point where patients are unable to do the things they want and need to do, and none of the pain relief options are providing relief, then it may be time to talk with a doctor about other options such as surgery.

Ocana Medical Care, located in Tampa, FL, aims to bring you as much information as possible about treating arthritis. 

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